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« Hangin' Mr. Cooper | Main | Bredesen Administration Moves to Make Day Care Less Available, More Expensive » December 4, 2007First, They Came to Tax Your Barbecue...
Tomorrow in Nashville, Gov. Phil Bredesen's Revenue Commissioner will present to a joint legislative tax committee the administration's position on "Tax Loopholes Which Need Addressed." The government calls tax exemptions "tax exemptions" until it decides it needs more money. Then it calls them "loopholes." Currently, Tennessee taxpayers - individuals and businesses - save more than $6.4 billion a year because of tax exemptions. Here's the list, as included in the Bredesen administration's proposed 2007/08 budget. Tellingly, the Bredesen administration does not call that $6.4 billion a "savings" for taxpayers, but a "loss" for the government. But the very terminology of calling the result of a tax exemption a "loss" for the government shows you the pro-higher-tax bias of the document and the people who wrote it. The state does not lose a dime from tax exemptions because it isn't the state's money in the first place. Government does not have any money except that which it extracts from the people. To say an exemption "loses" the government money is to turn reality on its head. Exemptions save people money. Ending exemptions - what government calls "closing loopholes" - will cause taxpayers a loss of money. That chart should not list any "estimated loss" to government of exemptions but instead should list the numbers under the heading "estimated savings to taxpayers" - in order to communicate that the administration understand that the governor and government work for, and are funded by, the people. Republicans, a bit of advice. Don't use the terminology of loopholes and losses. That's government-speak that's biased toward higher taxes. Instead, call them exemptions and "estimated savings for taxpayers." It's more accurate, and communicates that you haven't forgotten that the people are the boss. Here's the Tennessee Republican Party press release. Full disclosure: I wrote it. Posted in Tennessee Government News
Comments
I look at it more as a new tax. If it wasn't taxed before and now it is then the tax went from zero to 9.25 (or 9.75 in Knoxville). To me that is a new tax or at least a tax increase. I also think the word "exemption" is misleading also. For something to be exempted it had to be included at one point. My Tennessee tax history may not be that great but as far as I know these new taxes were never part of the tax system to start with so as far as I can tell they were never "in" the code to be later exempted "out". I don't know about the word "savings" either. To me that implies that you were supposed to pay it to start with but you found a way not to, and thus a "savings" from what you were supposed to pay. I will just stick with what they are, more new taxes to pay for more uncontrolled spending. Posted by: THE REP at December 4, 2007 6:15 PMThe state uses the carefully chosen terminology to lessen the reaction of the public by encouraging tax envy. Most people associate loopholes with tax cheats. If the state were honest and called it a tax increase then public response would be negative. Have to hand it to them, they are silver tongued devils and propagandists extrordinaire. Posted by: Rick Forman at December 5, 2007 1:53 PMI would like to to see the volume of tax exemptions for property tax that the state and local governments have squirreled away taken off of the tax rolls. Posted by: Danny L. Newton at December 5, 2007 10:18 PMPost a comment
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The Bredesen administration will reveal tomorrow which current tax exemptions it hopes to kill in the upcoming legislative session in order to raise more revenue. 