"Let's do it for the chilren."Typical!
I think there's more here than meets the eye. 98% favor a tax increase? Unlikely.
Posted on 04/03/2002 4:43:19 AM PST by GailA
Tennessee Business Roundtable endorses tax reform
By TIM WHALEY
KINGSPORT - Tax reform proponents received a shot in the arm Tuesday evening when the Tennessee Business Roundtable announced its endorsement of tax reform and election support for lawmakers and candidates who endorse tax reform efforts.
"The board of directors discussed it, and we realized that we needed to take a leadership position on the issue of tax reform," said Ellen Thorton, executive director of the roundtable. "And if tax reform includes a personal income tax, then we can in fact support that. We must look at all components of tax reform, and we can't exclude one over the other."
The board vote was 20-0, with one abstention, while a poll of membership drew 96 percent support.
The Tennessee Business Roundtable is composed of 153 of the largest businesses and industries in the state.
"I think the issue has to do with education," Thorton said. "Frankly, one of the most concerning matters for the association and the people of the state of Tennessee is the need to adequately fund education - not just at the university level, but preschool through eighth grade and high school."
Thorton called the sales tax "inflexible, uncompetitive and extremely regressive" for those persons of lower income who end up paying a proportionately higher share of their income in sales taxes than persons of more means.
The group's support of tax reform also extends to fully supporting those candidates for state office who similarly support tax reform.
Gov. Don Sundquist said the endorsement may help greatly, given the almost unanimous vote of Tennessee Business Roundtable members.
"It's a courageous step," Sundquist said. "I don't know of any political candidate with an opponent that has ever received like 98 percent of the vote. I believe this helps to continue to turn this thing in the way. More and more people understand there is a problem."
State Rep. Ken Givens, D-Rogersville, said it's obvious that business should be onboard for tax reform.
"A stronger education system helps Tennessee business and Tennessee industry, and that helps out all Tennesseans by providing better jobs," Givens said. "I don't know if they have come to the forefront soon enough in terms of recruiting candidates, because they only have 24 hours until filing deadline. But supporting candidates, that's quite another matter."
Givens said the Tennessee Business Roundtable statement clearly indicated an understanding of the harm of cuts confronting the state should a dependable new revenue source not be found.
"Whether it's education funding being jeopardized or funding for infrastructure grants and other needs, for the Tennessee Business Roundtable to come out and endorse an income tax is a great help," Givens said. "They maybe should have been out there a lot sooner, but I guess now is better than never."
State Rep. Keith Westmoreland, R-Kingsport, said the move was a surprise.
"This certainly helps - no question about it," Westmoreland said. "I think everybody has finally realized we've got a problem and about the only way to end up fixing it is to do something in the area of reform."
"Let's do it for the chilren."I think there's more here than meets the eye. 98% favor a tax increase? Unlikely.
Gail, the ones in the know are saying that there will be a big push for an income tax in the next 2 weeks, most likely next week. Be prepared. (Wouldn't it be a real hoot if after all their screaming and posturing and whining and getting an income tax passed, the Tennessee SC ruled it unconstitutional? AGAIN!)
Fowler's foul plan is just that FOUL. NO matter which way you choose you get stuck with ONE BILLION in NEW TAXES! Go read yesterday's thread posted above.
They DON'T NEED MORE MONEY.
CALL and keep CALLING 800-449-8366 + 1 + the last 4 digits of their Nashville legislative office. You can locate their numbers here: Click Here
MANY IGNORE THEIR EMAIL!
Committee doesn't warm to proposal
By Paula Wade, The Commercial Appeal March 28, 2002
NASHVILLE - Sen. David Fowler's income tax/sales tax/constitutional convention compromise plan got a cool reception from members of the Senate Finance Committee as its sponsor tried to explain the complex proposal.
Fowler, R-Chattanooga, is proposing a plan that would enact two different tax schemes - one based on increasing and broadening the sales tax, the other on an income tax - and then allow voters to choose through a constitutional convention call in November.
With the state facing a deficit this year and a huge hole in next year's budget, Fowler said his compromise is aimed at ending the tax standoff between supporters of a sales tax hike and advocates of income tax-based tax reform.
Fowler's plan would enact an immediate increase in the state sales tax rate by 1 cent. On Jan. 1, the plan calls for implementation of a 3.25 percent state income tax and a reduction in the sales tax rate, but only if voters on Nov. 5 reject a call for a constitutional convention.
If they vote for a convention on taxes, then the state's sales tax rate would increase to 7 percent, most exemptions would be repealed and most services would be taxed at 5 percent.
Convention delegates would be selected in August 2004 to rewrite the portion of the constitution that pertains to taxes.
On Tuesday, Fowler fleshed out the details of his proposal, which he said is open to amendment by anyone interested in compromise. His plan also raises sin taxes and tobacco taxes and caps the amount an individual pays in taxes on medical services.
Fowler's proposal applies to 3.25 percent of the portion of a taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income that is above the federal poverty level, a rate adjusted with inflation. The federal poverty level for a family of four is now about $18,000.
Although his plan calls for extending sales tax to almost all goods and services, some items are exempt - industrial machinery, goods for resale, farm exemptions, insurance premiums and commissions and items sold to charitable organizations.
"This is a good effort at a compromise, and it will pick up some members who can't vote for a straight-out income tax,'' said Fowler, a conservative who acknowledged he's taking a political risk in proposing a plan with so many components that people love to hate.
Senate Democratic Caucus chairman Joe Haynes, D-Nashville, a proponent of a sales tax increase, said the Fowler plan can't be discounted as a viable option because so few options are left. However, he noted that the plan is loaded with things that make legislators cringe.
"If you were to vote for it, you'd be voting for an income tax, a sales tax increase and a constitutional convention all at the same time - that's a good vote,'' he said, chuckling. "You can be for or against anything voting for that.''
Commentary By Steve Gill
The Nashville City Paper
There is a fundamental truth in politics: "You can't beat anybody with nobody!" That truth is exactly what the pro-income tax crowd has been counting on.
Over the past several years angry taxpayers have adopted the battle cry "we will remember in November" to remind legislators that there can be a severe political consequence for ignoring the will of the people. But for most legislators, the critical date is not in November, or even August when the primary elections are held. The most important date is actually Thursday, April 4, which is the qualifying deadline for candidates for either the state House or state Senate.
Legislators are well aware of the significance of Thursday. In recent weeks legislative leaders and even Gov. Don Sundquist have mentioned it and noted that no significant action on Tennessee's budget impasse is likely to occur "until after April 4."
So why is April 4 so important? The governor and his pro-income tax allies in the legislature know that overwhelming public opposition to the income tax has been their biggest impediment in convincing legislators to ignore the taxpayers and vote for an income tax anyway. They also know that any legislator who does not have an opponent qualify today will have a free pass to re-election — and can thereby vote for an income tax with complete impunity. The voters may "remember in November" — but they won't be able to do anything! Public opposition is a concern; an opponent can quickly become a crisis.
Legislators who are unopposed after Thursday’s qualifying deadline will not have to face the voters in either August or November. For House members, the next election they would have to worry about will be over two years away. For Senate members, they will not have to face voters again for four years. That is a long time for voters to remember an income tax vote, and many legislators may gamble that voters will either forget by that time, or at least be much less angry about it.
On the other hand, every legislator who has an opponent qualify by the end of April 4 — either in their own party, in the opposing party or as an independent — will find it much harder to ignore the will of the people in the current legislative session. They could still vote for an income tax, for example, but they would do so with the anticipation of facing voter wrath in just a few short months. Faced with an impending "day of judgment,” most legislators will be attuned to the will of those voters and not vote for an income tax.
The only control that citizens actually have over the legislative process is the threat of their votes being used to punish legislators who ignore the will of those who elect them. Thursday is a critical day because legislators know that opposition, however vocal and vehement, is essentially toothless without voters having an actual choice to vote for or against them. So while voters should certainly "remember in November,” we will wake up Friday with a clearer sense of whether we can actually do anything with that memory.
Steve Gill is the radio host of Steve Gill Mornings on 99.7 FM WWTN.
Bill lets voters pick tax
by Tom Sharp Associated Press Writer
NASHVILLE -- A tax bill that would let voters choose between an income tax and a sales tax on services to help the cash-strapped state raise money was put off for three weeks on Tuesday.
Sen. David Fowler, a Signal Mountain Republican, told the Senate Finance Committee he didn't expect his bill to pass without amendments. He encouraged committee members to help him to put the bill in a form that could break the Legislature's impasse over spending and taxes.
"Everybody can take solace in being about to vote for something," Fowler said. "The fact is, collectively we have failed. I firmly believe the mechanism in this bill will allow us to pass something and get us out of a three-year stalemate, and avoid making education budget cuts that would do damage to this state."
The state faces a $350 million shortfall in the current budget year ending June 30. It would take about $800 million in new revenue to pass the same budget again next year, and $1.2 billion in new money to fully fund Gov. Don Sundquist's proposed $9.6 billion spending plan.
Fowler's plan would ask voters this November whether they want to call a constitutional convention to address the state's tax system. If the voters said no, then a flat-rate income tax would go into effect. If voters called the convention, the state sales tax would be expanded to services and exempted items, and the rate lowered, until the convention made its tax recommendation in 2004.
Tennesseans would then vote on the convention's recommendation. If the recommendation was approved, it would go to the Legislature, which has final approval and would decide how to implement any changes or additions to the tax system.
Fowler said while he wasn't proud of his proposal, no one should feel pride in the alternative -- a no-new-taxes budget that would cut $400 million from K-12 education.
Finance Committee Chairman Douglas Henry, D-Nashville, said he likes the idea of giving voters a chance to say whether they want an income tax.
Later in the meeting, Sen. Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, deferred action on his no-new-tax budget proposal for two weeks.
"I don't detect a mood on this committee to cripple public education today," Kyle said. "Maybe we'll be there later, so we'll move this two weeks and see where we are then."
Kyle also encouraged committee members to tell him if they can find a way to balance next year's budget on existing revenues without cutting education.
On the Net: Tennessee General Assembly, http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.