I’m so sick of hearing about this weekend’s upcoming “Sales Tax Holiday” that it’s not even funny. I’m sick of the politicians acting as though they’ve done some magnanimous thing by granting us the right to purchase a few goods for 10% off.
Meanwhile, these same “magnanimous” fraktards are down at the Statehouse trying to figure out a way to keep taxing our FOOD spending.
Here’s the thing, you ‘generous’ fellows:
I do not need a computer. I do not need glue sticks. I do not need Toughskins Jeans or Trapper Keepers.
I do need food. I’m on a very tight budget right now, and saving 10% on food means that I get to eat for TWO EXTRA DAYS for the same money.
So let’s quit patting ourselves on the back for this stupid “holiday” and do some meaningful tax-reduction work.
UPDATE: the Bad Doggie, No Schools Version
So I sent a little email to salestax.holiday@state.tn.us to let them know that I cared not one fiddler’s fart about this whole tax holiday in light of the fact that the State government continues to overcollect massively and that a food tax reduction was needed. I received this reply:
I would point out that eliminating the sales tax on food would decrease state revenues by over $500 million each year and reduce local county and city revenue by over $100 million each year. A good portion of this revenue goes to schools and educating Tennessee’s children. Other portions go toward providing police and fire protection, aid to the elderly and disabled, adult and child protection services, and other services that many Tennesseans depend on every day. You might also suggest to your local representatives which of those groups of people should lose the services they rely on so that we can eliminate the $8 or $9 in tax we pay on every $100 of food we purchase. You might also consider that, although no one is publicly stating it, the reduction of such a large amount of the state’s revenue might very well lead to reconsideration of a state income tax to replace the revenue lost from sales tax collections.
Heh. Nice.
No mention is made of the fact that they are in violation of the State Constitution by overcollecting revenue. Here’s an idea, email guy…STOP SPENDING MY MONEY LIKE DRUNKEN MONKEYS. I could make better use of that $8 or $9 than you seem to be doing.
Just Another Pretty Farce 
Yea, I briefly considered putting off the purchase of my new computer till the Tax Weekend, but decided that it just wasn’t worth it. They’ll just find another way of screwing me out of the money I would’ve spent.
“You might also suggest to your local representatives which of those groups of people should lose the services they rely on so that we can eliminate the $8 or $9 in tax we pay on every $100 of food we purchase. ” – Apparently the sales tax holiday people are all stocked up on snark.
Apparently the sales tax holiday people are all stocked up on snark.
It took every ounce of niceness I’ve got today to not respond with “I can think of one salary we could cut…”
Has this nitwit ever heard of the magic words “regressive taxation”? It is not at all clear to me why — given that stuff costs money and that the public has decided that certain things merit public funding — that a person making $20k and a person making $100k should pay the same amount (8-9%) in food taxes to support the public good. Since it is unlikely that we will ever exist in a tax-free utopia and the gap between wealthy and poor is now bigger than ever, maybe TN should think more seriously about an income tax.
I’m sure every bit of that money goes towards the groups mentioned, that none of it is spent on pet projects and the like.
Wait … you mean ya’ll don’t have a state income tax????
Whoa.
Or, hey, how about increasing the tax on certain luxury items? I’m not going to say a “sin tax” on cigarettes, liquor, or the like, but … power boats? Cars over X amount? Computers? (Sorry, but given a choice between a really poor person paying tax on food, or someone better off [computer purchase indicating same], better the computer purchaser. Or even, computers over X amount. Or instead of that, computer games. That way, if you need it for work or school, no penalties; but better games than food. How ’bout fur items? If they’re going to be sold, add a luxury tax, rather than taxing poor folks’ food.
I think the drunken monkeys all moved to Washington.
Ha, well we don’t have state income tax but don’t think it’s not proposed. I predict some day we’ll have state income tax in Tennessee AND the almost 10% sales tax we have already.
But it’s for the children. You DO care about the children, don’t you? (rolls eyes)
@La BellaDonna Seems a bit complicated, but perhaps you’re on the right track. Lower the taxes on food by 5% or so and increase everything else by 1%, or whatever it takes to make up the difference.
Oh, and while we’re at it, stop spending money advertising the lottery! If the lottery can’t support itself without advertising then perhaps it’s not worth the trouble. Oh and those drunk driving commercials with the dude water skiing down the road and such, ditch those too please. Booze it and Lose it. Click it or Ticket. Fun in an Instant! I get it. Please stop.
Has this nitwit ever heard of the magic words “regressive taxation”? It is not at all clear to me why — given that stuff costs money and that the public has decided that certain things merit public funding — that a person making $20k and a person making $100k should pay the same amount (8-9%) in food taxes to support the public good.
Not clear to me either. But this guy works in the revenue department. The less revenue, the less there is for him to manage.
But if he wants budget-cutting & budget-balancing ideas, I’ve got plenty that don’t involve killing old ladies, letting houses burn down and releasing untrained illiterate children into the workplace.
Casey touched on many of them. The rest involve cutting spending on various pork barrel projects designed to keep cronyist politicians in business.
“You might also suggest to your local representatives which of those groups of people should lose the services they rely on so that we can eliminate the $8 or $9 in tax we pay on every $100 of food we purchase.”
I’d start with “all of them” and work my way back. These groups would have a much better chance of making it without help if they weren’t overtaxed. If not, their families and people in their communities would be in a much better position to help them out.
Boy oh boy. Dangit. I had a great comment about government employees being asshats, but it just flew right out of my head. Yes, I’m on drugs. 😉
I should probably post this up above (as it is also germane there), but I honestly expected to be slapped about for my observation about regressive taxation. That no one yet has thumped me or called me a commie (I’m a socialist, Pu-leeze) for my wondering aloud speaks to the thoughtful crowd that congregates here and the tone that is set by the host.
However, I hear that organizations sometimes try to sue when employees shoot off their mouth on blogs and wind up making the organization look bad. I’m sure you wouldn’t want that kind of trouble.
I honestly expected to be slapped about for my observation about regressive taxation.
Why should you be slapped for something I agree with you on? ;-p
I’m no fan of taxation, period. But if there’s gonna be taxation, I think the least we could do is make it as fair as possible. Regressive taxation penalises the poor.
That’s what got me about that dude’s email. It was obvious that to him “$8 or $9” is no big deal. He clearly must not live in a world where $8 or $9 is all you have to feed your family for several days. And yes, there ARE people like that. And that’s what gets me about regressive taxes. Anything which takes a larger percentage of a poorer person’s income is ridiculous. And to me there is NO WORSE TAX than a tax on grocery food. Because everyone must eat, and the poor are even more limited on their options of where to eat. They most often have to eat grocery food (as opposed to restaurant food.) There is simply no way to opt out of the food tax.
At least with an income tax you aren’t charged for what you don’t have.
Of course, I’d just as soon see them cut spending. I know they can but they refuse to. That’s a real problem with me.
the thoughtful crowd that congregates here and the tone that is set by the host.
Well, most of the time. Some times the host tells the government to “shove it”, and that’s not too thoughtful a tone. But darned if I didn’t MEAN it. ;-p
I’m sure you wouldn’t want that kind of trouble.
No, never. Of course I’m not convinced that it could really happen like that here in America.
He clearly must not live in a world where $8 or $9 is all you have to feed your family for several days.
No kidding. Granted, I’m a single person living solo but that’s about the size of my budget for meals most weeks. Sheesh.
I think that warrants complaining to someone’s boss. You should email TN.Revenue@state.tn.us about whomever that was and see what they have to say. If you don’t, I might. The unprofessionalism in that response makes all the rest of us state employees look bad.
And just for the record, the state doesn’t refuse to cut spending. They cut it, just not in the areas they should.
Lookit, clearly both you and this fellow at Revenue were having a bad brain day yesterday. And of course, no one blogging is ever accused of saying anything cranky or anything. That said, think a bit about what you are saying about taxes.
Tennessee is 48th in taxes, near dead last in education spending, number one in adult onset diabetes, prescription drug use and so on and so on. So we ain’t overtaxed, at least comparatively, and as a people we need more help than most.
Yes, you can find some stupid things the state spends money on. BTW the lottery pays for all its own ads, not controlled by the state, and yes, lotteries have to advertise to survive. We already bought that particular addiction, so we have to feed it. But if you give me your checkbook, I can find lots of stuff you spend money on that I might think are stupid. You don’t. There are serious constituencies and reasons why those areas are covered. Easy for you to say until you sit and talk to parents of disabled children, or victims of crime, or rural folks whose children have left because there aren’t any jobs at home anymore.
We went through tax debate hell a few years ago. The conclusion was, like it or not, people want the system we have. You may disagree. Didn’t see you in a car honking your horn, wrestling Steve Gill to the ground and making him cry uncle.
So if the system we got is the system we got, we got to make it work as well as we can. Food is the most stable part of the tax base. People still eat, regardless of the economic conditions. Is it regressive, yes, but not by a lot. Remember the poorest of the poor get food stamps – no tax on those – and other assistance. It is the working poor that get the relative shaft. Property taxes are largely progressive, BTW. Except for the elderly who have a fixed income and live in the same home a long time, but there are some changes coming for that.
So it aint a great system, but there it is. Sales tax holidays are tomfoolery, but have a general popular appeal. Sorry you can’t eat trapper keepers, and this second one was a sop to the Grover Norquist devotees on the hill, the first one actually does provide some benefit to working poor parents getting their kids ready for the school year. The tomfoolery aint over either, keep your eyes open.
And let’s hope you and the guy at revenue start breathing a little more deeply.
Lookit, clearly both you and this fellow at Revenue were having a bad brain day yesterday.
The email I sent him was professional. The response I got was snark to the Nth degree.
if you give me your checkbook, I can find lots of stuff you spend money on that I might think are stupid. You don’t.
The key difference? My checkbook is MY money.
The State’s Checkbook is ALSO my money. And everyone else’s who lives here.
We went through tax debate hell a few years ago.
Yeah, I know. I lived here. I still want to see the spending cut. Arguing about taking more of my money is stupid. That’s not how it works with my boss. If I’m out of money, I’m out of money.
Tennessee is 48th in taxes,
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
near dead last in education spending, number one in adult onset diabetes, prescription drug use and so on and so on. So we ain’t overtaxed, at least comparatively, and as a people we need more help than most.
You’re on a libertarian site, my friend. We don’t buy that the government is the agency to do the “helping”.
It is the working poor that get the relative shaft.
And those are your diabetics on a high number of prescriptions, ironically.
And let’s hope you and the guy at revenue start breathing a little more deeply.
Huh. So my opinion is just some woman being overrought and not understanding the system? Is that where you’re going with this?
Hey, little lady, don’t get all het up…geez, are you PMSing or something? Pointing out that food taxation is regressive and penalizes the very populations most likely to require assistance (the gov’t is quick to take away across the board, but one must qualify to get exempted or to get some money back and the working poor, as a whole, do not because they have some income) is just mean-spirited. What about the children? The rural diabetic amputee grannies burned alive by an arsonist? Damn, that’s just cold that you suggest a progressive income tax coupled with more prudent expenditure as a way to adjust the tax load more equitably and raise state revenue overall. Your woman parts have given you a case of bad thinking, for sure.
I’m beginning to think that SOME of our state employees need to switch coffee services.
“It is the working poor that get the relative shaft.”
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it the working poor who get the most food stamps (that’s certainly true any other state I’ve ever lived in) and are/were on TennCare? I know there’s this big pretence that it’s OK to limit or cut state services because only lazy welfare queen cheaters use them, but it isn’t actually true. In Tennessee as in other places, it’s often working people who indeed are “the poorest of the poor.”
Oh, and what Bridgett said, too.
[…] Coble Yesterday a Mr. Harvey of the Tennessee Department of Revenue suggested to me that a reduction of the food tax would harm the children of the good people of […]