Tax Reform: Dull Ax or Sharp Knife?
Published July 16, 2013
By Joe Mavretic
By Joe Mavretic, former House Speaker and NC SPIN panelist, July 16, 2013.
In order to revise our tax system, the Senate proposal used a dull ax. The House/Governor/Final version used a sharp knife. The Senate proposal was wholesale and the House/Governor/Final version is incremental. The final version will have fewer unintended consequences than the Senate proposal would have.
When the dust settles, there will not be any catastrophic consequences from any of the provisions. The final version redistributes wealth in some minor ways but not to a significant degree. The final version realigns some priorities that were part of the conservative campaign agenda. About half of the Democratic Party base will pay a wee bit more in taxes and about half of the Republican Party base will pay a wee bit less (proportionally).There is not enough gain or loss for the Independents to effect their voting preference.
Whether the changes effect the state overall will not be determined until after the 2014 elections. If the Republican majority continues in the 2015 General Assembly, businesses will reconsider their opinion of the state. The final version was another loss for Senator Rucho in his continuing struggle against Mayor, and now Governor, McCrory. Senator Rucho's Senate Finance Committee came in second in its competition with the House Finance Committee-both in strategy and tactics. Speaker Tillis' campaign stock rises as does the reputation of Representative Julia Howard.
July 16, 2013 at 1:38 pm
Richard says:
Lower rates and lower overall revenues always good.
July 16, 2013 at 2:26 pm
Jeff S says:
You guys can't have it both ways.
Either they made substantial change worthy of praise or derision, or they did very little not worthy of any attention.
And please, stop calling a tax cut a "reform". Everyone, including you, point out that this isn't a reform, yet you continue to use the term.
July 16, 2013 at 5:31 pm
dj anderson says:
"...struggle against Mayor, and now Governor, McCrory. - blog
First, thanks for the summation blog.
I ask: Why the inclusion of "mayor?" After 6 months I'd think just Gov. would suffice. I sat here pondering a bit to see how Tom's using "mayor" would further gouge Sen. Rucho, which this blog wants to clearly paint as the 'loser' and rub it in. That's long past, so I wondered if Tom might be driving a wedge farther into the crack in the Republican camp. Rucho is a man with emotions, which can lead to gruches, which leads to 'get back' which breeds chaos. Maybe I'm parsing words to get meanings not intended?
Also, "wee" is used to describe the gain or loss to both Republicans and Democrats. That's a very small, not worth worrying about amount, which in coin, varies among us. I'm going to assume it to be pocket change, which varies, too, but certainly not the same for the rich man as the poor man. A wee bit here for these, a wee bit there for those, brings to mind "wee wee" which surely is an exaggerated parsing of the meaning of Tom's words. And too, it was the poor left out little toe that went "wee, wee, wee all the way home."
July 16, 2013 at 7:55 pm
dj anderson says:
Error / correction....Please note that I repeatedly referred to "Tom" in my reply when the blog was written by Joe. I don't know which of them or both might be offended. My apologies to both men, and any confused readers. I'm embarrassed. Sorry, no harm intended.
