Go Bill
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights is being taken seriously. Bill Hobbs has been on this issue for about two years now. What it does:
When the state government takes in excess money, taxpayers would get a refund of the extra cash under a proposal going before a legislative committee Tuesday.
The ”Taxpayer Bill of Rights” is designed to keep state revenue from growing more than population growth plus inflation.
Money over the amount set by that formula would be refunded to taxpayers through a check or a reduction in taxes.
It’s modeled after a law in Colorado that taxpayer advocates cheer but advocates for public services call a devastating straitjacket on government finance.
The constitutional provisions would also give voters the last say on tax increases.
March 23rd, 2004 at 12:32 pm
Ohio already has something like this. If the state runs a budget surplus, the income tax rates for that year are adjusted downward to compensate, so your refund is bigger (or you owe less).
But I’m confused as to how Tennessee could fairly implement something like this, given that its only tax is a consumption tax, and the government (hopefully) has no way of tracking how much people consumed.
March 23rd, 2004 at 2:13 pm
Regardless of the virtues of this bill, it trips one of my sore points: The tendency to call every damn thing designed to work in favor of the People as a “bill of rights”.
The taxpayers bill of rights.
The patient’s bill of rights.
The child’s bill of rights.
The McCustomer’s McBill of McRights.
It serves to cheapen and diminish the importance of The One True Bill of Rights.
It’s nearly as offensive as those phone company commercials a few years back that equated “freedom of speech” with free calling minutes.
March 23rd, 2004 at 2:25 pm
What the Geek said.
March 23rd, 2004 at 11:17 pm
tgirsch, the state of Tennessee would have to return the surplus via a reduction in the sales tax rate for one year by enough to cut taxes overall by the amount of the surplus.