 | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
« AP Gets Blog-Friendly | Main | Alphabet Song, The Abridged Version » May 25, 2006Legislature Passes Tax Relief Over Governor's Objection
Tennesseans would have not one but two sales tax "holidays" on items such as clothes, school supplies and computers in a $26 billion state budget headed to the House today for approval. The holidays would allow purchase of the items free of sales tax during the first weekend in August and a yet-to-be determined weekend next spring.Goetz's boss, Gov. Phil Bredesen, is not one of those people who believes taxpayers, having paid more taxes than necessary to fund the budget, deserve to get a little of it back. However, it is unlikely Gov. Bredesen will veto the budget just because it contains a small tax cut. The best part of the Tennessean story: They got the facts right about the state's large revenue surplus. Instead of repeating the Bredesen administration's misleadling rhetoric about the state having a surplus of between $37 million and $88 million, the Tennessean reported: The state is expecting approximately $300 million in revenue surplus over budget projections this fiscal year, which ends June 30.That is exactly correct. Any elected official or appointed staffer who tells you the surplus is some much smaller number is merely trying to hide the fact that they are spending more this year than was originally budgeted. UPDATE: The Nashville City Paper puts the amount of excess tax revenues at "roughly $400 million.", which may be a little high but still is much closer to the truth than the Bredesen administration's deceptive use of the $37 million to $88 million figure. Posted in Tennessee Government News
Comments
While some would welcome any tax cut we can get, in this instance I think we have sold our bithright for a mess of pottage, and a watery gruel at that. The entire mess is the classic big government divide and bribe tactic. Something for the seniors, something for the children and their parents, and last, but surely not least at 60% of the total, the state employees.(If you add in the money to the colleges which really allows them to continue their bloated ways with impunity from a taxpayer and/or student/parent revolt, you get a whopping 86% to the bureacracy.) Posted by: George Rand at May 25, 2006 10:36 AMThere are all kinds of requirements and caps built into the "holiday" making it far less of a benefit than one would think. Posted by: "John Galt" at May 25, 2006 11:01 AMTo paraphrase a former monarch about the tax holiday, "Here's your cake." In the meantime who is the lucky beneficiary of a state legislator to receive $175k to study the black flies swarming around all of the BS at Legislative Plaza? Who owns a farm or pest control company that will benefit from the $150k to "eradicate" fire ants. Posted by: Rick Forman at May 26, 2006 10:39 PMPost a comment
Comments Policy: Your comment is subject to deletion if it is off-topic or includes foul language or personal attack. Readers, please email me if you find comments that include egregious violations of this policy. Comments may not post immediately - do not post twice!
|
|||||||||||
Tenneseee taxpayers would get two "sales tax holidays" in the next year, under budget plans nearing final approval in the state legislature, 