Tax or Ax

Gray area in Phoenix fog

Tax or ax (This was published in the Arizona Republic as a letter to the editor, Dec. 19, 2010)

It shouldn’t be an either-or, black-or-white solution as many want to frame it.  The best solution will be gray, meaning some of both. 

And it’s shortsighted to look at only the next fiscal year in reaching a solution.  The wrong plan could actually cost us much more in future years.  For example, closing rest areas and parks looked like a quick fix until we found that it costs more to reopen them that it saves.  Deep cuts in education threaten our future.

 We need more revenue because we just can’t cut enough to bail us out.  We rolled back taxes several times during the 15 years of prosperity prior to the 2007 meltdown.  But which ones to “unroll”? 

Corporate taxes are already high so they’re out.  Sales taxes are high too, and we just added a temporary one-cent tax.  The most obvious choice is to raise the income tax revenue just enough to a point that when coupled with budget cuts put us on the path to a balanced budget without damaging our future. Party politics and ideologies have to be put aside or things will surely get much worse.

J Farrer

Phoenix