Letter: Jindal tax plan would benefit all

Gov. Bobby Jindal should be commended for his attempts to eliminate Louisiana’s income tax and replace the revenue with an expanded sales tax (“Jindal says end income tax,” Jan. 12).

The Civitas Institute recently released a report showing that this type of reform would greatly benefit North Carolina. In particular, the study concludes that if North Carolina had implemented this reform in 2000, the state would now be enjoying between $1,500 and $2,600 more in income per worker per year. Moreover, it would have directly led to the creation of up to 378,000 new jobs over the past decade.

The research backs up the rhetoric. Eliminating the income tax and replacing it with a sales tax is a reform that works for everyone.

Brian Balfour, director of policy

Civitas Institute

Raleigh, N.C.

Comments

1) Comment by crazycajun - 28/01/2013

DMJ, jindal has never been honest and above board with anything. He's been a liar and deceiver since day one. I never thought I'd live to see the day that someone would make Huey Long look like a angel.But here he is, L'il booby.

2) Comment by DMJ - 28/01/2013

Oh, and anyone who thinks this will be "revenue-neutral" is living in a fantasy world. If this passes, Jindal will act really surprised that his budget has a giant hole in it come mid-year. Anyone wanna guess how he'll fill it? He won't . He'll cut funding to education, health care and social services....which is the whole point. The least Jindal could do is be honest about his motives.

3) Comment by Bighug - 28/01/2013

Again I agree with DMJ.

4) Comment by DMJ - 28/01/2013

John Kennedy (Republican State Treasurer) recently said that "this program will have winners and losers." Which are which, you may ask? To quote Mr. Kennedy, "If your income is $150,000/year you could end up paying substantially less; if your income is $20,000/year, you could end up paying substantially more." Case closed.

5) Comment by DMJ - 28/01/2013

"Eliminating the income tax and replacing it with a sales tax is a reform that works for everyone." Yeah, except for low-income people or seniors on a fixed income. So basically...that statement should have read, "Eliminating the income tax and replacing it with a sales tax is a reform that works for everyone....that the GOP cares about." What the proponents of this plan conveniently leave out every single time is that sales tax revenue projections are based on the amount of goods people currently buy...obviously, this amount would decrease if everything was 3-4% more expensive. Duh. Dumb plan. Let's hope there are more sensible people than Jindal sycophants in the legislature. Of this, I am very doubtful.

6) Comment by crazycajun - 28/01/2013

dday, this clown won big among one third of the registered voters who happened to turn out that day. Sad to say but if Edwin could have run your boy would be cleaning toilets right now. LOL

7) Comment by crazycajun - 28/01/2013

Nice try rigging the opinion process booby. Like you didn't know these clowns were going to send this in'

8) Comment by Scrooge - 28/01/2013

Maybe the rhetoric backs up the research might be a better depiction? Wouldn't it be ethically responsible to provide the actual reference?

9) Comment by Marvin6 - 28/01/2013

Please tell me how it will benefit the elderly, retired, and the lower middle class, who already pay no or little income tax, but, will now have to pay one of the highest sales taxes in the country, with the local and state sales combined. In my case 12. 5% (with a 3% increase). This is a give a break to those who make the most and create a burden on those who make the least. And down the line he may want to institute a state property tax to help keep this revenue neutral.

10) Comment by swinham - 28/01/2013

The Civitas Institute is a conservative think tank in North Carolina that, what a surprise, pushes eliimination of income taxes replacing them with consumption taxes among other things. I can find nowhere on their website data to back up the assertion this letter makes. The organization simply promotes this most recent expression and other elements of the far right's ideology and agenda.

11) Comment by dday198 - 28/01/2013

jindal won big in both his elections huge support across the board

12) Comment by Bighug - 28/01/2013

What Mr. Balfour didn't include in his letter is that the combined state and county sales tax in NC, although it varies, is less than 7% in most of the state. King Jindal wants us to pay a combined tax more than twice that much. It isn't about helping Louisiana. As with most of his proposals, it is about benefitting the King and the wealthy who support him.