Bills have been introduced into the state legislature to eliminate the state income tax, which may be a good idea but not for the next couple of years. We are already at deficit status and doing it right away would make it difficult to keep the state in business.
Though state expenses could be cut significantly, it could not be done to the extent that income tax elimination would require. But phasing it out in the years ahead might make sense.
After all, one of the most unfair ways to tax the public is with income taxes. In the first place, many people who should pay them don’t. And it is hard to find out who they are. Secondly, there are much more simple ways for the public to pay their taxes than on their incomes which requires a lot of work and expense to determine what it should be.
Of course, preparing state income tax forms is much easier with the complicated federal income tax laws in place. Which leads us to that also. Eliminate it, too.
Taxes could be charged on a much simpler basis with sales and value added taxes that don’t require such a headache of preparation. And this has been suggested at the federal level also.
The legislature could go ahead and adopt a measure that eliminates its income tax in the years ahead and make way for a simpler and fairer way to get its needed revenue. And we could cut excess spending that would make for a more efficient operation of state government.
We would certainly benefit by such a measure.
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