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AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2006 > March > 07 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USProposed tax break for industry
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Should industry get a big tax break on energy in the name of creating jobs? Republicans in the state Legislature are pushing a bill that would eliminate the 4 percent state sales tax on energy used in manufacturing, a change that would save thousands of companies about $140 million. Republicans say it will create jobs. Democrats say consumers are shortchanged. What do you think?
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By E. Lewis
March 7, 2006 08:56 AM | Link to this
Tax breaks should only be given when they are worth it in the end.
Where is the loss of revenue going to be made up? Is a tax break to industry going to encourage conservation else where? Why is industry getting an energy tax break and not the rest of us?
If this energy tax break is just a way of helping out campaign contributors while passing on the revenue loss to the rest of us then perhaps the answer should be no.
By Jmarsh
March 7, 2006 09:33 AM | Link to this
No tax breaks for the rich and business! Lord knows it won’t give consumers lower retail prices in any way.
Stick it to ‘em! Government isn’t in the business of doing anything, it’s all about revenue collection.
Ok, I’m done playing democrat for now.
$140 mil across the state equates to how many jobs? Let’s see, they stop paying 4% in energy tax, which increases their profit, which increases…gasp… tax income from profits for the state!
By Dan
March 7, 2006 09:34 AM | Link to this
Unquestionably, businesses simply pass along taxes to the end user. Tax breaks for unregulated industries flow right into the consumers pocket
By E. Lewis
March 7, 2006 09:41 AM | Link to this
Government will always use job creation as a method for selling industry tax breaks, but you have to look at the fine print and the long term results. Wal Mart is famous for the tax breaks it gets for creating jobs, but studies have shown that in the long term the corporation creates 2 jobs for every 3 it eliminates when other businesses go under and those jobs pay less than the ones they replace and the tax base is reduced.
Sure there are examples of tax breaks actually accomplishing what was intended, but far too often the reality is that they are being used to reward campaign lobbyists.
By jim d
March 7, 2006 11:02 AM | Link to this
Dan, you’re obviously not in business.
As a small contarctor my rates are locked in for a period of 1-2 years depending upon my contracts. The rising costs of fuel have caused me to cut back the number of employees. Should the tax break be offered for one of my costliest overhead items, “fuel”, it would go a long way in my rehiring those employees.
Barring that happening, Yes, my rates will be adusted accordingly when contract renewal time comes around.
So its not a simple matter to just pass these costs along to the consumer, and even so the economical situation of those that were cut back can never be rectified.
By Steve
March 7, 2006 01:13 PM | Link to this
You gotta be kidding me! These tax breaks will not trickle down. The economy would benefit more if individual consumers were given the break. We would spend it and contribute more in sales taxes and the spending in the economy. 2/3 of the economy is consumer spending. If big business gets it is really more profit and the perecnt invested in real jobs is smaller and the investment in jobs may be in China. If I got a tax break I would sepnd it at Publix or somehwere else locally.
By Robert
March 9, 2006 02:26 PM | Link to this
When will the average Joe stop believing the republican BS?
If what they say is true, shouldn’t we never tax any business at all? Should we give land grants to all businesses since they are the ones that “employ?” How silly is that?
Aren’t people tired of giving away land and tax credits to Ford, for example, that come into an area due to tax breaks to “create jobs” only to leave after a number years. Yes, some jobs are “created” and people move into the area to take them. However, when the tax breaks stop, they leave behind a ton of unemployed. They leave behind a monolithic building that is rarely good for anything.
Plus, has anyone really done the math to see if the total State revenues truely go up by giving these breaks? Or, is it robbing Peter to pay Paul?
IMHO, the government gives tax breaks because some politicans get their palms greased and then it is the citizens that pick up the tab all the while the wealth stock holders get more profit from the companies. Face it, have you ever heard of companies “lowering prices because they got a tax break?”
Make everyone, including businesses, pay their fair share of taxes. This is only fair, period.