TN GENERAL ASSEMBLY or email them all at once teaparty@nashville.com
Phil Valentine's update:
Dear FOP:
After making a deal to run the CATS bill first, Naifeh promised to run his income tax bill tonight if CATS didn't pass. The deal was he would do it by 11PM Tuesday night or he would drop it for good.
After your overwhelming turnout, Naifeh got nervous and decided to adjourn until 10AM Wednesday. In other words, he lied. What's new, huh?
I very much appreciate all of you who took time to come down Tuesday night. It was your actions that scared them off the income tax . . . again.
It's 12:08AM Wednesday morning as I write this. We plan to be broadcasting down at the Capitol at 10AM as the house goes back in. Please come join us if you get the chance. Naifeh needs to understand that we will not tolerate his tactics and his lying.
We're winning, folks, and we have to keep up the pressure. When you turn out, they respond.
Regards,
Phil Valentine NewsRadio 1510WLAC
TUES. JULY 2 @ 11:30pm
THOUSANDS TURN OUT TO PROTEST!! NAIFEH ADJORNS HOUSE UNTIL 10 am WITHOUT PROMISED VOTE ON INCOME TAX!! RETURN TO PLAZA AT 9 am !!!
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TURN OUT THE TROOPS TODAY JULY 3 TO PROTECT YOUR INCOME FROM SPENDQUIST AND BOSS HOGG'S GREEDY HANDS
Steve Gill on with an update. Says Jimmy Naifeh has lied once again. He has proven himself to be a liar again. Steve will be out at 9AM tomorrow to broadcast live. Congratulates everyone for the quick turnout tonight. Wants the largest crowd ever tomorrow.
We have to be like the Minutemen. We did great tonight. Even the liberal news reporters were astonished at the quick turnout!
Naifeh is like Pharoah with his hard heart. He's not going to let the IT go until he feels the pain like Pharoah. Keep up the good work everyone.
Phil Valentine needs the troops now!
Dear FOP:
This is it, folks. Red alert. The CATS bill was just referred back to committee without enough votes to pass. They've given Naifeh until 11PM tonight to run his income tax in the house. We don't know if he has the votes but we don't want to take that chance. We need all available people down at the Capitol.
I'll see you down there. Stay tuned to NewsRadio 1510WLAC for details.
Phil Valentine
The instant turn out last night is what stopped it then; a solid one today should do it.
CATS suffers narrow defeat in Tennessee House vote
By TIM WHALEY
Tennessee House supporters of the Continuing Adequate Services and Taxes compromise budget plan lost by a narrow 47-45-3 vote Tuesday night, and then were stunned when House leaders pulled back from a planned income tax vote.
House lawmakers need 50 votes to pass any measure.
CATS sponsor Rep. Frank Buck, D-Dowelltown, said he wasn't in the room when an agreement was made to run CATS and then bring the income tax for a vote.
"But my understanding was that we would vote on our plan and then they would bring the income tax proposal up, and we were going to vote to approve it or declare it dead," Buck said.
With the income tax plan out of the way, CATS supporters hoped to peel off the necessary votes to pass their plan.
Now, Buck said the CATS supporters must go back to the Finance Committee to try again.
Locally, those voting "yes" on the CATS plan included Reps. David Davis, R-Johnson City; Steve Godsey, R-Blountville; and Jason Mumpower, R-Bristol.
Reps. Ken Givens, D-Rogersville; Ralph Cole, R-Elizabethton; and Zane Whitson, R-Unicoi, all voted no.
Rep. Bob Patton, R-Johnson City, was among three lawmakers who passed on the vote.
Businesses, smokers and drinkers would be among those scratched the deepest by the CATS plan.
Businesses would pay $75 million more in corporate income taxes under the plan, as the excise tax rate moves from 6 percent to 6.75 percent.
<> Also, CATS would eliminate a federal tax break for business by de-coupling the state rate from federal returns, raising $50 million.
And businesses would pay $27.9 million more in higher non-water energy costs in manufacturing.
Givens called the measure the biggest anti-business vote in state history, a hurtful blow given that business tax collections this year are down 20 percent.
"I appreciate that Representative Beth Harwell, who chairs the state Republican Party, agreed with myself and 40 income tax supporters that this plan is the most anti-business tax proposition we've ever seen in the 14 years we've served down here together," Givens said. "I also agree with President Bush and the Republican House that we need to stimulate the economy ... but by de-coupling, we totally gut the job-creation aspect of the Republican-sponsored plan out of Washington."
Meanwhile, Davis, Godsey and Mumpower - criticized by some as "do-nothing" lawmakers - were at least pleased to get a chance to vote for the CATS plan, a measure they have supported for some time now.
"The CATS budget was the only thing protecting the citizens of Tennessee from an unconstitutional income tax or continued government shutdown," Davis said. "I think it's very unfortunate that the pro-income-tax supporters didn't come onboard to help reopen our government."
Davis also said he remained true to his constituents, supporting a "common-sense" budget that avoids the income tax.
Since 50 lawmakers did not reject CATS, it can be brought up again.
"If income taxers want to keep government open, they need to go ahead and vote in what they believe in," Davis said. "But hopefully, they will move toward a more common-sense, middle-of-the-road approach that is constitutional."
In addition to business taxes, CATS would hike sin taxes by 200 percent on cigarettes and nearly double taxes on wine, liquor and beer. Sin tax measures raise $196 million.
Finally, CATS tags everyone, business or resident alike, raising the local-option sales tax to a uniform 2.75 percent and keeping the difference - $248 million - to help run state government.
The move is repealed in one year but would leave local governments with property taxes as the only way to raise revenue at that level.
Other changes would increase the price of big-ticket items, with the full 8.75 percent sales tax rate applying to the first $3,900 of any purchase. The current cap is $1,600.
Newspaper sales and subscriptions, vending machines and coin-operated amusements would all be subjected to the state's new 8.75 percent sales tax rate.
Other items subjected to the sales tax include space rentals at fairs, utility poles, public pay phones, property rentals with crew, film and transcription rentals, the first $150 of club memberships, and physical fitness facility fees.
Finally, commercial trailers would be assessed a $100 registration fee.
In all, the plan raises $796 million.
Meanwhile, Sen. Jerry Cooper, D-Morrison, is working on yet another version of CATS that he said the business community finds "99.9 percent" acceptable.
"Instead of leaving business out of the discussion, I brought them and kind of acted like a mediator," Cooper said. "At first, they said no to everything ... but we finally came up with something they can live with."
At the heart of the Cooper plan is a 1 percent sales tax hike, taking the state rate from 6 percent to 7 percent.
Other aspects of the Cooper plan would de-couple business taxes, use much smaller sin tax hikes, hit businesses with a 0.5 percent excise tax increase, and hit consumers with a $10 automobile registration fee increase and a $3,200 single-article cap on sales taxes.
The plan would also dramatically increase the number of professionals subject to the professional privilege tax, and raise that tax from $200 a year to $300.
The Senate was adjourned Tuesday night, but Cooper said he will bring his plan up Wednesday in the Senate Finance Committee and hopefully get a floor vote later Wednesday.
Cooper's plan raises $903 million in the first full year.
Also, early Tuesday, Gov. Don Sundquist offered his own compromise tax plan with elements of a sales tax expansion, sales tax hike, 3.75 percent income tax, and constitutional convention call. It was largely ignored, at least for now, in the General Assembly.
Nowhere in any of these stories do I ever read how these legislators are digging down to eliminate wasteful big-government spending. ALL of the efforts are now focused entirely on confiscation.
These disgusting scumbags MUST be stopped.
All you great citizens and legislators in Tennessee, please - - HANG IN THERE!!!