The Tax Counselor

http://www.afpnc.org ^

[GOPRaleigh]

The Tax Counselor by Chris Neeley 2/16/05

You better hide your wallet. The politicians are preparing to make another run at your money.

Last week, Senate leader Marc Basnight announced a new hire for the Senate Finance Committee.

The new employee, Sabra Faires, formerly the chief aide to House Speaker Pro Tem Richard Morgan and a former employee at the Department of Revenue, has been hired as a tax counselor.

She will be paid -- listen closely -- $126,000.

And what is Ms. Faires responsibility as a tax counselor in the State Senate?

According to a Basnight aide, Ms. Faires will be, "searching for new revenues to help plug a $1.3 billion budget gap."

Now let me get this straight. Senator Marc Basnight has created a new position in the state Senate, specifically for Ms. Faires. Her job -- search for "new revenues." Of course, you and I both know what "new revenues" is code for? That's right, finding new ways to tax the hard working citizens of North Carolina.

Oh, and don't forget, she'll be paid $126,000 by us -- the taxpayers of North Carolina -- to find those new taxes!

Now with all due respect to Ms. Faires and her "knowledge and expertise" -- do we really need a state employee, who by the way will make $19,000 more than the governor, to find new ways to tax us?

Absolutely not!

We already pay some of the highest corporate, personal, sales and gas taxes in the country.

What our state needs are fewer six-figure income tax collectors and more of what I call good, old-fashioned common sense! What we need is the truth...

Our state is not $1.3 billion in the hole. And we don't need any more taxes to solve the politician's annual spending problem.

If the truth be told, we don't need any tax counselors, tax advisors, revenue experts, Ph.D.'s, or a six-figure income bureaucrat to solve the fiscal problems of our state.

The solution to our state's fiscal woes was established centuries ago -- not by government, the state, or its agents. Instead, it's a principle almost older than man himself. The idea is you can't spend more than you take in -- plain and simple.

But for some unknown reason, the politicians in Raleigh and their tax counselors do not adhere to this universally accepted principle.

Instead, they spend, spend, and spend more, without any respect for the taxpayer behind every dollar. If only they had a human face -- a family, a small business owner, a retiree, a veteran, a young struggling worker -- on the face of every dollar they spent and every tax they raised.

How much is it to ask the politicians, before they spend one dollar or before their tax counselors make one single tax increase recommendation, to stop and ask these questions: How long and how hard will each taxpayer in our state have to work to pay the tax we're asking them to pay? Will this tax mean that a taxpayer might have to work a second job in order to send their child to college? Will this new tax force a stay at home mom to go to work so that the taxes can be paid? Will this tax mean a small business owner will have to layoff an employee -- or close his doors permanently?

Sadly, the politicians do not see the face of the taxpayer on the dollars that they spend. All the politicians see and hear are the special interest groups, lobbyists, teacher's union, and bureaucratic representatives looking for the long and easy path to prosperity.

In a couple of weeks, Americans for Prosperity and some courageous leaders in the House and Senate hope to change this debate in Raleigh. The plan is to move from a debate of how much more revenue can we find -- to how much fat can we cut from our budget, so that we can continue to fund our priorities like education and prepare for emergencies like hurricanes.

The principle of not spending more than you take in can easily be enforced with a Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or a TABOR as it is often called. A TABOR is a constitutional amendment that would limit government spending to the rate of inflation plus the rate of population growth. It is working effectively in Colorado, and in local governments all across this country. A TABOR can work here in North Carolina, too.

And just think, in less than 700 words we just solved the fiscal problems of our state -- without raising taxes and without the services of a $126,000 tax counselor!

[GOPRaleigh]

Ahhh yes, good ole NC politics! Pay someone a ton of money so they can tell you how to raise taxes. We're not as red as we seem...

[upchuck]

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