Lexington talk radio host Leland Conway put out a statement Sunday night in opposition to state income tax increases and the revenue "shortfall" problem:
"We need to make clear that this budget shortfall does not mean that the state is out of money. If you sat down and worked out a budget as though you earned $150K per year, while actually earning $75K per year, you would have a budget shortfall too. You’d have a budget that includes too much spending."
"There is a solution. It’s HB 51 and it will eliminate Kentucky’s income tax on individuals and businesses. It makes up the revenue by adding a sales tax to certain services that are not currently taxed, but it lowers the overall sales tax rate to 5.5% while still exempting items like groceries and most medical supplies and medicines."
"Currently, Kentuckians pay 5% income tax. If you make $50,000 a year, that’s $2500 cash back in your pocket, not counting the savings on the lower sales tax. This bill, pre-filed by Rep. Bill Farmer and co-sponsored by Rep. Stan Lee is a real solution."
"While many other states are begging for bailouts and raising taxes on everything under the sun, Kentucky could be building its future."
Leland can be heard weekdays 9 am to noon on 630 AM WLAP.
2 comments:
Any flat rate or fixed dollar amount tax, is inherently unfair. We need to follow Alexander Hamilton's proportional tax. In Federalist Paper 12, he wrote:
"The ability of a country to pay taxes must always be proportioned, in a great degree, to the quantity of money in circulation, and to the celerity with which it circulates. Commerce, contributing to both these objects, must of necessity render the payment of taxes easier, and facilitate the requisite supplies to the treasury."
Neither should any kind of tax be limited to sales of products or services.
The movement of all moneys should be subject to a proportional tax. Since it involves movement, it's like a toll tax. Only instead of a tax on the movement of vehicles, it's a tax on the movement of moneys.
That would include the movement of all bank transactions including the movement of laundered drug money from account to account.
The movement of stock transactions, including speculations, mortgages that are bundled and sold to another mortgage broker all should be included in any proportional toll.
Proportion is the definition of fairness. Without proportion, no tax is fair.
When the state decides to get serious about tax reform, it will set up a proportional tax system that will "render the payment of taxes easier, and facilitate the requisite supplies to the treasury."
Conway's idea isn't all that it is cracked up to be. You are not going to be pocketing all of the money that you would have been paying in income tax. While it may seem like you are getting a break, you would be paying that money back, if not more, to the state through the sales taxes imposed.
I like the idea, but the reasoning behind it is not very well thought out.
Post a Comment