The Way We Tax A 50-State Report

THE GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE PROJECT ^ | 2/03 | KATHERINE BARRETT & RICHARD GREENE,

[joonbug]

Regardless of whether a state has an income tax, sales tax, high property taxes, etc. my impression is that the spending habits of all states are somewhat similar and they all get the money somehow. So I don't think it makes much difference if there is no state income tax as the money will just come from somewhere else. Is that a reasonable assumption? Also it is the federal tax that takes by far the biggest bite out of our wallets.

[x]

“A diversified revenue structure is important,” says Don Boyd, director of the fiscal studies program at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government.

Considering the condition that Rockefeller left New York's finances in, this looks like some kind of sick joke.

The way things are arranged today, if states don't have an income tax, the money that they would have taken just goes to the federal government. It's a bad idea, as it encourages states to adopt income taxes, but it's obvious why the high income tax states and the federal government wanted things that way. If there wasn't this guaranteed bite taken of incomes, there would be even greater flight to low tax states.

[Taxman]

Thass right, Henrietta.

Excuse me, it comes as a surprise that these fools are advocating for more and higher taxes?

And not advocating spending restraint or even spending cuts?

Sounds to me like it is time to change some local, state and federal elected official's and bureaucrats' diapers!