Finally A Chance To Vote On Taxes

Since we moved to Arkansas almost ten years ago, there have been several initiative attempts to put issues on the ballot that would allow voters to choose whether or not to reduce various taxes. Every time, they have been kicked off the ballot before election day by the worshippers of big government who have been petrified over the mere possibility of ceding any power over taxes to the little people, who they openly consider to be so stupid about such matters that they would probably vote to reduce taxes. Such critical matters should only be decided by our elite rulers.

I have written several times already about this year's effort by fellow Libertarian, Karl Kimball of Little Rock, to allow voters to decide whether Arkansas sales tax should be charged on human foods and medicines. Currently those items for non-humans are tax exempt, while the human varieties are taxed. I have mentioned several of the hurdles that Karl and his team have been able to overcome. In spite of the taxpayer financed efforts by government bureaucrats to prevent this measure from ever appearing on the ballot, it has narrowly survived a vote by the Arkansas Supreme Court. This means that we should actually be able to vote on a tax matter; a monumental first in our Arkansas history. According to some people, this issue will be the most important thing on the ballot. It's just wishful thinking by big government fans that the support for this tax reduction is slipping.

Of course this means that the mass hysteria will grow with horror stories and other propaganda about how this reduction in the sales tax revenues will plunge the entire State of Arkansas into the 18th Century, with people losing their lives and suffering terribly as a result. Editorials such as this one are already common place and will intensify. The only media outlet that I am aware of as supporting the measure is the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, which doesn't allow any linking to its stories. Everyone else is echoing the gloom and doom message about the extreme horrors facing the State if any less money is paid in taxes. It is all too similar to the dire predictions made about the dreaded Y2K bug before December 31, 1999.

KMK
- posted by Kerry M. Kerstetter, MBA~CPA~ATP~ATA @ 10/25/2002 02:56:00 PM Send this post: