Even moderate tax rates discourage economic activity

What Would Happen if Congress Repealed the 2001 Bush Tax Cuts?

More On Food Tax Issue

Sherry was in Harrison earlier today and picked up some of the slick brochures the big government folks have produced (at taxpayer expense) to spread their lies about the ballot initiative to remove sales tax from human food and medicine. The cover pretty much says it all: “Their Axe Attacks Us All.”

Inside are all kinds of lies and misrepresentations about the catastrophic effects awaiting Arkansas if tax revenues to the government are reduced by even one cent. It will be so terrible here in Arkansas that we might as well all pack up and move to a high taxing state so that all of our humanly needs will be taken care of. Remaining here would be suicide under the conditions we will be facing.

One line of reasoning that the opponents of the measure use is that removing the sales tax on food and medicine will start a chain reaction, reducing other sources of revenue, such as the Soda Tax, Hamburger Tax and Medicare Matching. Those taxes and payments are calculated differently than normal retail sales taxes, so there is no legitimate linkage. These issues were even addressed and found to be bogus in the Arkansas Supreme Court decision last week that allowed the measure to remain on the ballot.

Here’s a new reason to vote against the sales tax repeal that Sherry heard from a client who happens to run a retail food store. He is planning to vote against it in order to save himself from the hassle of having to reprogram his cash registers.

KMK

Debating Taxes

Making an increasingly rare public appearance, I have agreed to take part in a debate-forum the students at the local community college are holding on the ballot measure to repeal the Arkansas sales tax on human food and medicine. Surprisingly, I will be taking the side in support of the measure. The arguments in favor of keeping the tax will be handled by the President of the Harrison Chamber of Commerce, Layne Wheeler. As a forum to present both sides of the issue, this should have a better turnout than the two people who showed up at a recent meeting in Berryville that was strictly against the measure.

I do realize that, being sponsored by students, this is a trip into the lions’ den. It’s a certainty that those students and faculty have been subjected to a constant brainwashing of propaganda proclaiming the end of their lives if the sales tax is removed from food and medicines. This has been done with students in all of the other levels of government schools.

The forum is scheduled to begin at noon on Thursday, October 31 in the Little Theater in the main building. It will also cover arguments for and against the other controversial measure on the Arkansas ballot, regarding animal cruelty. I am actually looking forward to hearing more about this measure because all I have seen are the lies being told by its opponents who are twisting the issue to say that it would outlaw all hunting and fishing, which is ridiculous. While I haven’t made up my mind on how I will vote on this matter, the opponents haven’t helped their case by resorting to obvious blatant lies. The opponents of the food tax repeal run the same risk with their outrageous doom and gloom end of the world arguments. Such obvious lies destroy any credibility the opponents could hope to have with objective voters.

KMK