(no subject)
Sure, the recession knocked our revenues for a loop. But, more important, we knocked ourselves for a loop by cutting and cutting and cutting taxes over the past 15 years.
We have had a wild tax-cutting orgy.
We slashed property taxes, which used to be the main source of income for schools.
Automobile property taxes were cut in half.
We phased out the franchise tax.
We eliminated the tax on machinery and equipment.
We reduced corporate income taxes.
We are phasing out the estate tax.
Had enough? There’s more. Lots more. But I think I’ve made my point.
What has all this cutting cost us?
I have done some homework. Or rather, I had it done for me.
A friend who serves in the Legislature asked the state’s research team to figure out how much all the costs of all the tax cuts have totaled since 1995.
The cumulative impact on Kansas, the study finds, is a loss of $7.6 billion in revenue during that period. We are now losing about $600 million a year from tax cuts. That would have put us in the black this coming year and go a long way toward reducing the billion dollar budget forecast in the following year.
Had enough? There’s more. Lots more. But I think I’ve made my point...
We tried to mimic the Reagan tax cuts, but we forgot, by law, we have to balance our budget.
Before we start slashing education and other worthwhile programs, how about some honesty? Won’t anyone stand up and tell the truth?
We have over-cut, plain and simple, and now we must look for ways to “enhance revenues.”