December 15, 2004

Liars

"Tennesseans for Fair Taxation" is an organization dedicated to the creation of a progressive state income tax, so you know that they are pleased by the recommendation of the Tennessee Tax Structure Study Commission endorsing such a tax.

But TFT has a problem: There is no explicit language in the state constitution authorizing the legislature to create an income tax. And three state Supreme Court rulings that an income tax is unconstitutional. Supreme Court rulings carry more weight than opinions written by attorneys general. Supreme Court rulings have the force of law. That's why the state currently doesn't tax income - laws that created an income tax were struck down years ago by those rulings even though, I'm sure, there were attorneys general and legislators and predecessors of TFT who were of the opinion that such taxes were constitutional.

The court ruled otherwise and that ruling - not the opinions of various attorneys general - is the law. Any income tax passed by the legislature could not be collected until the Tennessee Supreme Court rules on its constitutionality. The current liberal court could indeed chose to rule that way, but it has not yet done so.

So, what is TFT doing about the unconstitutionality of the income tax? Telling lies. In an article on their website, TFT says this:

The anti-tax reformers argue that there is no language in the Constitution that authorizes a state income tax. But by the same token, their [sic] is no language that specifically prohibits a state income tax either. The truth is, the constitution is basically silent on the matter.

Despite what TFT says, there IS language in the state constitution that indicates the legislature is prohibited from enacting an income tax.

TFT focuses solely on one section of the constitution - Article II, Sec. 28 - which says "The legislature shall have power to levy a tax upon income derived from stocks and bonds that are not taxed ad valorem," and says - correctly - that it does not specifically prohibit a state income tax. But TFT either hasn't read the whole constitution or has chosen to deliberately ignore Article 11, Section 9, of the state constitution, which says this:

The General Assembly shall not authorize any municipality to tax incomes, estates, or inheritances, or to impose any other tax not authorized by Sections 28 or 29 of Article 2 of this constitution.

TFT is lying by asserting there is no language in the Tennessee constitution that forbids an income tax. Article 11, Section 9 clearly does.

For a solid legal counter-argument to the current attorney general's opinion that an income tax could be constitutional, click here and follow the link to Forrest Shoaf's excellent article.

And don't believe a word TFT says - they'll say anything to get more of your money.