Re:Help, I’m on the IRS hit list
by JoshTriplett on Tuesday September 20, 2011 @12:51PM
(#3018347)
I agree with the concept of moving towards a flatter and simpler tax structure. The problem with any new tax proposed as a replacement for another tax: far too often the new tax gets passed, and repealing the old tax conveniently gets forgotten. And when the issue comes up, suddenly a pile of programs people supposedly care about couldn't possibly survive without the new revenue.
Speaking as someone who has seen a pile of new taxes go by and old ones rarely leave. Here in Oregon, we finally enacted a pile of protections against the continuous ballot measures demanding new taxes, such as a cap on how much property taxes could go up per year (no more than inflation), as well as a requirement for a 50% turnout in an election to pass a tax (no more special-election surprise taxes). It also helps that Oregon requires a balanced budget, which means that when the economy goes down, the local governments have to (gasp) spend less (and plead for money, which they usually do) rather than spending more and later demanding money to pay debt.
Speaking as someone who has seen a pile of new taxes go by and old ones rarely leave. Here in Oregon, we finally enacted a pile of protections against the continuous ballot measures demanding new taxes, such as a cap on how much property taxes could go up per year (no more than inflation), as well as a requirement for a 50% turnout in an election to pass a tax (no more special-election surprise taxes). It also helps that Oregon requires a balanced budget, which means that when the economy goes down, the local governments have to (gasp) spend less (and plead for money, which they usually do) rather than spending more and later demanding money to pay debt.