The Watchdog Report

By Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom

 

 

Recently Americans got some overdue tax relief when the US Treasury Department agreed to stop collecting an incredible 108-year-old tax on long-distance calls.  The three percent tax was levied in 1898 to help pay for the Spanish-American War, which incidentally also ended in 1898.  Five federal courts have declared the tax, which long-distance users have paid for over a century, illegal.

 

Interestingly, the long-distance tax was originally considered a “luxury tax” because only rich people had telephones back then.  Of course, for as long as any of us can remember, even middle income and poor families have had telephone service.  So, this “tax on the rich” was actually paid by everyone who ever made a long-distance call.

 

 

While stopping this tax is good news, it’s at best a baby step in the right direction.  Most of us, regardless of income, would agree that we pay far too much in taxes.  In fact, typically every dollar the average American earns through the month of April represents his or her share of taxes for the year. 

 

Why do some politicians think we don’t care how much of our money they take away from us in taxes?  Their indifferent attitude is simply astounding.  What we need is an honest effort at real tax relief at all levels of government.  Average folks shouldn’t have to work four months just to pay ever-increasing tax bills.   

 

This year our state collected over $1 billion in extra money from us, and after some prodding by the Governor, the General Assembly considered the topic of tax relief.  But instead of tax relief, the politicians gave us a tax swap.  They swapped part of our property tax for higher sales taxes.  And they refused to refund any of the $1 billion they over-collected.  Even the IRS has more decency than that.

 

Next year, legislative leaders need to take a hard look at real tax relief.  Are there any outdated taxes being collected at the state level?  Is the state over-collecting taxes?   The bottom-line on tax relief is we need real action, not simply a tax swap or empty words.  

 

If the politicians are willing, we can receive meaningful tax relief.  Let’s hope the people we elect are listening to our cries for help and not simply stampeding to the feed trough with their fingers in their ears and their hands in our pockets.