The Gadfly is a series of letters offering commentary on local issues and published in the Warrensburg Gazette.

Dear Editor

Have you looked closely at your phone bill lately? If you do, you’ll find that about 40% of your bill (home or small business) is composed of taxes and government-ordered surcharges. These add up to $120 per year on my home phone and $360 per year on my business lines. Although some of the surcharges go to the phone companies, there’s an awful lot of hidden taxes involved. Of course, these are a pittance compared to what the state spends.

The governor and legislature are playing hardball on the state budget. It seems that Governor Holden plans to veto important budget bills unless the legislature lets him put a tax increase on the ballot. Meanwhile, the legislature says they won’t budge on new taxes. This showdown has all the makings of a partial government shutdown on July 1st.

May I suggest a modest compromise? Put an amendment on the ballot that eliminates the state income tax and replaces the money with an increased sales tax. Exempt groceries and prescription drugs, so people aren’t taxed on basic necessities. Think of the advantages:

• There’s already a simple system in place to collect sales tax at the retail level, so the state income tax enforcement bureaucracy could be dismantled and the employees returned to the private sector.
• Taxpayers wouldn’t have to pay tax preparers for that extra return, leaving CPAs more time to do important work like auditing government boards such as JCBS and CASA.
• Taxpayers would experience “tax sticker shock” every time they made a purchase, so they’d be more likely to insist on government frugality.
• Taxes would weight most heavily on those who spend the most. If the wealthy didn’t want to be taxed, they’d invest their money (creating economic growth) rather than spending it on ostentatious displays. If they wanted to flaunt their wealth by conspicuous consumption, they’d be taxed accordingly.
• State revenue would not be directly dependent on changes in federal tax policy; right now, federal tax cuts will actually reduce state revenue, as well.