Rich is a relative term
Posted by BrianTake a gander at this letter to the editor in today’s Huntsville Times.
One of the purposes of the 8 percent tax break on school supplies for the upcoming school year is to help families in need. I have my doubts that the tax-free weekend will make a life-changing difference in low-income families.
Fifty dollars spent on school supplies yields $4 of tax. Perhaps the time and energy put into establishing a tax-free weekend could go to more meaningful programs that assist those in need.
On the other hand, if someone spent $200 on school supplies, clothing, etc., on the tax-free weekend, she would have saved a grand total of $16. I venture to say that if she spent $200 this weekend, she could bear to pay another $16 of sales tax.
In addition to programs to assist the needy, Alabama might establish a “school-funding weekend” in lieu of a tax-free weekend. Alabama could have a weekend where all sales tax revenue would go directly to funding local public schools. Surely schools would welcome the extra boost of revenue at the beginning of the academic year.
Inevitably, funding issues would arise, but if Alabama can coordinate a tax-free weekend, I think that the Legislature could dole out revenue from a school-funding weekend.
Sarah K. Fisher,
Huntsville, 35803
I rarely bet - not due to any religious objections, but because I work too hard to earn my money to risk losing it through chance - but I would be willing to place a small wager that Ms. Fisher is a Democrat. In Ms. Fisher’s mind people who can afford to buy $200 of school supplies (that they probably have little choice about purchasing since many items might be mandatory) have so much money that the government should simply take a little more for the purpose of giving it to others who did nothing to earn it. An article of faith with Democrats (or Socialists - the two are interchangeable) is that hard work and prosperity should be discouraged by the government by taxing until it hurts. If it doesn’t hurt then the taxes aren’t high enough.
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August 5th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Brian, let me raise you on that bet. I’m willing to wager that the author of this letter is both a teacher and a member of the AEA.
August 5th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
She had me up till the $4 part. This whole thing is silly because all it is used for is for something for the politicians to give the gimme society. Next time they will give us two weekends. Woooohoooo.
August 5th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
And just think, even though the state and municipalities lost some sales tax revenue I bet the state will make a good bit more than normal in income tax revenue. The stores were packed, which means that they all had to bring in (and pay!) more workers than usual.
Bill, I think the odds are in your favor.
August 5th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
I wonder if there are studies to show whether the tax-free weekend actually leads to increased tax revenue (from all the crap that is still actually taxed - like food and medicine). This would help assess the value Ms. Fisher’s argument.
Acting like a partisan hack does not.