City Income Tax’s Time Has Passed
First, I say thank you and kudos to Tom for taking the initiative to create this forum. This website and Tom’s letter to editor in the R&O dated March 4 make it clear to me that his intentions are sincere and heartfelt.
Second, let me be clear that I am not a resident of the city proper, but I am a multi-business owner within the city, a graduate of the public school system, and a lifelong resident of the Portland economic and social “district” as it were.
Over the years, I’ve seen lots of controversy come and go. Zoning and taxes are always hot button issues. Likewise, I’ve seen periods of booms and busts in terms of the local economy. Naturally, when things look less than rosy economically the landscape is ripe for controversy. It seems that this is where we are at the present moment in time.
In the past year alone we’ve had mixed feelings over an expensive boardwalk project, large-scale school roof replacement to be funded, another income tax season and a questionable use of public funds to acquire land that appears to serve no other purpose except to “control” the land more to the city government’s liking. It is my personal sense that the intersection of these items along with a generous helping of woes at the state government level and the local economy in general, has created a “perfect storm” for local controversy.
Rather than creating a lengthy post on all of these controversies, I’ve decided to take advantage of Tom’s forum here to comment on one issue that stokes my political passions.
The income tax, at all levels of government, is an insidious form of taxation. It was born out of class warfare more than 100 years ago, and was specifically prohibited by the Constitution that our Founding Fathers created. It required a constitutional amendment amidst dubious political circumstances to pave the way. I would encourage everyone to study the real history behind the income tax because it’s not as simple and benign as our basic historical education leads us to believe. For a real eye-opener, read the first few chapters of “The FairTax” by Neal Boortz.
All of that history aside, the fact is that we do have an income tax today at the federal, state and even the local level here in Portland. At each stage we not only have to pay the tax itself (upfront with no interest through the magic of withholding), but we also have the time and expense required to file the forms at each of these levels. That’s just a tax on the tax itself. The income tax discourages hard work, success, investment and savings. The very things which create more jobs and broaden the overall tax base by growing the economy on which the government can collect more efficient forms of taxation.
It’s bad enough that our federal and state levels have settled on income taxation as a major source of revenue, but as Mr. Jim Andros pointed out in a recent R&O letter, Portland is one of less than two dozen cities in the entire State of Michigan to impose an income tax. It was originally accepted by residents on the premise that it was to be used for a specific purpose (street paving) with the purposeful implication that it would not become a permanent burden. But we’ve seen this before in the likes of the federal excise tax on the “luxury” of telephone service over 100 years ago that was enacted to pay for a specific war. That tax grew well beyond its original purpose as over the years more people had to pay it and it was not repealed until just recently. The war it was to fund has long since been over.
I submit that the time for the Portland City Income Tax also has passed. People are confused and upset by some of the recent actions of our local government, and perhaps it’s time to starve the beast a bit. The government that governs best is that which governs least. Repeal the local income tax and win back a sliver of economic freedom for yourself and force the local government to consider its spending more carefully.
One last plug: I am not against all taxation, just taxation that is inefficient and economically short-sighted. For a valid alternative to the income and payroll taxes at all levels (local, state and federal) visit FairTax.org and do your own homework. Thanks.
-David Brown