Fiddler on the Roof

William Hershey of the Dayton Daily News (free reg. req.) is reporting that Taft is fiddling around with taxes again.

The not-so-governator Taft wants to raise business taxes again.
1) He wants to shift the current tax-system from the state's corporate franchise tax - paid on a business' Ohio net income or net worth, whichever is greater - unto a commercial activity tax, which taxes gross receipts. But he is more subtle this time around.
2) He is soft-pedaling his plan by claiming that his plan has a low rate (0.26% or .0026) and a broad base, since the first $1 million is sales is exempt.
3) He claims the old proposals will end up about 2 billion short in revenue.

Daniel J. Navin, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce's managing director of legislative affairs claims

that Taft's plan would have a "pyramid effect" on all business to business sales since the tax would be levied at all points along the manufacturing process.
It would automatically raise a companies tax-liability for every dollar increase in sales even if the company was not profitable.

The sentiment of Taft that remains so disturbing, is that he enjoys taxing people, believing it to be his duty, and feeling as if he has accomplished his sworn duty by having raised the tax-revenue through increase of taxation. A Reaganite answers: raise revenues through decreased taxations.

Plus, if Taft had any sense of history, he would reply that in 1969 Ronald Wilson Reagan raised the taxes of Californians after campaigning on cutting taxes. Of course Reagan cut the taxes later and Taft's refusal to use this historical example proves that he has no plans to lower the overall taxburden of any business or person in Ohio.

You will now be a victim of bad rhyming by Bruce Koole:
Tax Ohioans early, tax Ohio businesses late,
A tax fiddler Taft is, A Reaganite he ain't.

Please e-mail the Editor-in-Chief with any questions.