Washington Times Article about Vermont Taxes

"Dean's budget-balancing act left taxpayers in red"

Vermont had one of the highest per capita tax burdens in the country when Howard Dean left the governorship in January to run for president.
Mr. Dean, a Democrat who calls himself a "fiscal conservative," says he balanced all his state budgets by cutting spending. And allies and critics alike praise his budget-balancing record.
Vermont enjoyed a budget surplus this year while most states were in the red because of the recession that began three years ago.
What the former governor doesn't say is that he raised hundreds of millions of dollars in higher taxes, including sales taxes, cigarette taxes, property taxes and corporate taxes, to balance the books while paying for his. . .
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030806-113650-4135r.htm

One is credible, the other isn't.

n/t

it's the Washington Times.

I'm glad that the taxes went more on cigarettes/hotels/etc, rather than personal income.

"sales taxes, cigarette taxes, property taxes".
Property Tax hits the retired hardest. Sales Tax hits the poor the hardest. cigaretter tax and corperate tax I do agree with.

as the next time Nicholas posts his Dean cut taxes mantra this will make something of a refutation. For example one of the things the Times doesn't like is his Act 60 property tax. It says in the article that it did exactly what I said it did (cut taxes for poor homeowners and raised them for rich ones). It also puts him in a bind on the income/sales tax thing. If Dean is to be criticised for increasing the sales tax then he can't be criticised for the cut in the income taxes from 28 to 25 back in 94. Since both reductions happened for the same reason either Dean inherited a 25% income and a 4% sales tax or he inherited a 28% income tax and a 5% sales tax. Thanks.

I think though that raising sales tax is always a no-no. I don't like picking on the poor. I do agree with act-60. That was a good thing that Dean did.


J4Clark

Before Dean clothing was taxed by the sales tax and after Dean it wasn't. So in reality the net effect on the poor was probably a cut in sales tax.

More points for Dean in the category... er, simply "whose supporters are just plain disgusting or not". :puke: