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Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Speaker’s tax plan: Before the blow from the left, a swipe from the right
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This afternoon, Democrats in the state House and Senate will formally announce their opposition to House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s plan to shift the state away from the school property tax in favor of an expanded sales tax.
But they were beaten to the punch by Grover Norquist, leader of the Washington-based Americans for Tax Reform, who e-mailed a letter to House members urging them to vote “no.”
“This plan, which has been modified numerous times, is now being fast-tracked with little room for legislators to analyze or fully digest the consequences to taxpayers. This is not the way to set tax policy. Barring any possibility for further review, which would help clarify certain issues and allow signers of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge to get certainty that this is in fact not a tax increase, ATR urges you to vote no on the GREAT plan,” wrote the leader of the anti-tax group.
This doesn’t bode well for Richardson, who needs two-thirds of the House to move his plan to the Senate.
See the complete letter on the jump.
Dear Legislator,
As you continue to debate the latest version of the GREAT plan, I urge you to take into consideration all of the moving parts of this package and ensure that taxpayers will truly be rewarded for the fruits of your labors. Before enacting comprehensive tax “reform”, please step back and consider the implications of each piece of the package.
Many of you have pledged to your constituents that you will oppose and fight against any efforts to raise taxes. As a result, you will want to ensure that the result of this package is at minimum, revenue neutral, or better yet, an overall tax cut.
In its current form, the package contains one key element to ensuring that this reform effort is a victory for taxpayers: assessment and millage rate limits. Without these essential taxpayer protections, you run the risk of enacting only “loosely-stitched” property tax relief that could easily be undone in future legislative sessions.
Without the guarantee of limitations to local spending, Georgians could be subject to increased local spending (supplemented by higher assessment and millage rates) on top of higher grocery and services bills. If these taxpayer protections are dropped, this package runs the risk of becoming a tax increase.
In stark contrast to the rate limits, one element of this package potentially disables the viability of your “reform” effort. Calling for an expansion of the states sales tax to include what appears to be a telephone-book listing of services, is a move that both harms the taxpayer and is likely to cause great contention if passed.
In the last 6 months, Michigan and Maryland each passed a similar services tax, which were immediately opposed by voters throughout the state. Michigan legislators were forced to overturn their tax, while Maryland legislators are currently working to do the same. It seems that taxpayers do not respond well when winners and losers are selected by their elected officials.
Experience in other states shows that the more moving parts involved in a tax “reform” package, the greater the risk of unintended consequences. Taxpayers oftentimes find themselves on the losing side of the bargain when comprehensive “reform” is on the table.
Bearing this in mind, I urge you to proceed with caution. Rumor has it that this bill continues to develop and that all of the aforementioned elements may have been subtracted or changed in the process. If that is the case, the likelihood of this package being an overall tax increase goes up exponentially. One thing is certain, if you cannot identify all the moving arts of this plan- you should be wary of what dangers may lay in store for taxpayers if it passes.
This plan, which has been modified numerous times, is now being fast-tracked with little room for legislators to analyze or fully digest the consequences to taxpayers. This is not the way to set tax policy. Barring any possibility for further review, which would help clarify certain issues and allow signers of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge to get certainty that this is in fact not a tax increase, ATR urges you to vote no on the GREAT plan.
Onward,
Grover Norquist
On dealing with dissident groups: First, remove the cash from their wallets
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Earlier this week, the state Capitol was flooded by men and women — many of them elected officials — representing the state’s school boards, city governments and county commissions.
All were protesting passage of House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s plan to shift the state from school property taxes to an expanded sales tax.
The Georgia Municipal Association, the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, the Georgia School Boards Association and the Georgia School Superintendents Association all carry a great deal of weight.
So now we have H.B. 854, sponsored by state Rep. John Lunsford. As we understand it, the bill was defeated 6-5 Wednesday by the House Regulated Industries Committee.
But Lunsford, one of the Speaker’s “hawks,” asked for a vote of reconsideration. He got what he wanted, and the bill stands a good chance of resurrection today.
H.B. 854 was conceived last year as a measure to require unions to file all sorts of financial information with Secretary of State Karen Handel. But it has also been amended to say this: “No public funds shall be disbursed, either through contract or grant, to any organization which engages in lobbying.”
The influential organizations we named above are largely funded with dues paid by cities, counties and school boards across Georgia.
Sounds like someone’s trying to clear the halls in the Capitol.
Another short list — but this one doesn’t include Sonny Perdue
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Should a Democrat win the White House in November, the immediate question becomes who he/she would pick for the next opening on the U.S. Supreme Court.
The name of Leah Sears, chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, currently tops one list on a legal blog run by a law professor at Ohio State University.
“Age 52 and the only African-American female chief justice in the United States,” is how Douglas Berman describes Sears.
Hat tip to Jason Pye and Peach Pundit for this one.
Blogwatch: Fight brewing over legal ads between on-line firms, newspapers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Macon blogger Amy Morton is taking on state Sen. Cecil Staton (R-Macon) and his S.B. 391, which would require Secretary of State Karen Handel to hire a company to run a web site that publishes the legal ads that now go to local newspapers.
“I’d say that this bill is a not-so-thinly-veiled smack at [House Minority Leader] DuBose Porter [of Dublin] who owns several papers in rural Georgia if the truth were not a bit plainer,” writes Morton, a Democratic activist.
Global Notice, a California company, “has made $1,000 campaign contributions to both Staton and [state Sen. Chip] Rogers, two of the sponsors of the legislation,” she writes.
Keep your day job — because the other one may not be there
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Early this morning, the state Department of Labor reported that the state’s unemployment rate rose to 5.2 percent in January, up a full percentage point since November.
It’s been 16 years since we’ve had a two-month increase like that, according to state record-keepers.
“I continue to be concerned by weakness in Georgia’s labor market,” said state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond. “Clearly, the credit crisis and slumping housing sector are negatively impacting the job market.”
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