Harris Sherline: A Tax By Any Other Name Is Still a Tax
http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/101009_harris_sherline_a_tax_by_any_other_name_is_still_a_tax/
By Harris R. Sherline
Excessive taxation is dragging down the economy and tightening the government's grip on Americans
A tax by any other name is still a tax. Whether it’s called a tax, an assessment, a levy, a fee or a mandate doesn’t change the result. The outcome is always the same: less money in the pockets of taxpayers, and more money in the hands of government. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.
In an amazing display of chutzpah, President Barack Obama argued with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in a Sept. 20 interview that the cost of his health-care proposal will not break his promise that no one whose income is less than $250,000 a year will have their taxes increased. Unfortunately, like so many of his promises, this one also is subject to interpretation.
Here are some of the comments taken from the transcript of the interview:
Stephanopoulos: Probably the most definite promise you made in the campaign is that no one in the middle class would get a tax increase on your watch. ... Yet this week, Sen. (Jay) Rockefeller and several other Democrats say that this bill by Sen. (Max) Baucus is a big middle-class tax increase. ... Do you agree, and does that mean you can’t sign it?
Obama: Well, I don’t agree. I think that what you were referring to — and I haven’t looked at the quotes — but I think that they were concerned about whether or not this was actually affordable. If you’re saying to people, you’ve got to get health insurance, but they can’t actually afford it and they have to pay a penalty if they don’t get it, then that’s a pretty big burden on middle-class families. That’s a concern I share — making sure that this is affordable.
Stephanopoulos: You were against the individual mandate ...
Obama: Yes.
Stephanopoulos: ... during the campaign. Under this mandate, the government is forcing people to spend money, fining you if you don’t. ... How is that not a tax?
Obama: For us to say that you’ve got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase ... but, George, you — you can’t just make up that language and decide that that’s called a tax increase. ... George, the fact that you looked up Merriam’s Dictionary, the definition of a tax increase, indicates to me that you’re stretching a little bit right now. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone to the dictionary to check the definition ...
Stephanopoulos: I want to check for myself. But your critics say it is a tax increase.
Obama: My critics say everything is a tax increase. My critics say that I’m taking over every sector of the economy. You know that. ... Look, we can have a legitimate debate about whether or not we’re going to have an individual mandate or not, but ...
Stephanopoulos: But you reject that it’s a tax increase?
Obama: I absolutely reject that notion.
A veritable barrage of taxes in a variety of forms is rapidly dragging the U.S. economy and the nation’s citizenry deeper into the growing morass of government control. Federal taxation is increasing so fast that it’s literally impossible to keep track of it. In addition, the actions of the federal government are being mirrored by most of the 50 states, California perhaps being the worst. Wherever that occurs, the economy declines and unemployment numbers rise.
However, the problems of excessive taxation involve something that may be more important than just the extent to which Americans are taxed — as damaging as that may be — and that is government intrusion into our daily lives.
Taxation is always accompanied by a plethora of agencies that are charged with the responsibility of making sure no one is able to avoid paying their “fair share.” The biggest and perhaps most feared is the Internal Revenue Service, which has almost unlimited power to interpret the tax code and collect taxes.
However, the most insidious form of taxation is government mandates, which require that states, counties and cities, individuals and businesses provide specific services or meet certain standards for various activities without providing the funds to pay for them. In a way, it’s another form of taxation without representation.
At some point, the sheer extent of taxation and the bureaucratic intrusion that invariably accompanies it is bound to impede the U.S. economy beyond the nation’s historical ability to provide a lifestyle that has been the envy of the world.
Be careful what you wish for.
— Harris R. Sherline is a retired CPA and former chairman and CEO of Santa Ynez Valley Hospital who has lived in Santa Barbara County for more than 30 years. He stays active writing opinion columns and his blog, Opinionfest.com.
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