Louise Taylor: Unfair ‘bill of rights’

Regarding the Aug. 11 news article “Senate to vote on limits in constitution”: Republicans in the General Assembly are pressing for a constitutional amendment that limits the top rate of personal income tax to 5 percent, an amendment they’ve nicknamed Taxpayer Bill of Rights. But what they’re selling is a bill of goods, i.e., “a misrepresented, fraudulent, or defective article.”

According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, “The personal income tax can be – and usually is – the fairest of the main revenue sources relied on by state and local governments. When properly structured, it insures that wealthier taxpayers pay their fair share, provides lower rates on middle-income families, completely exempts the poor, and allows low-income tax credits that can be used to offset the sales, excise and property taxes that fall most heavily on low-income families.”

Why would we want a taxation system that is less fair? What kind of “bill of rights” is that?

This story was originally published August 25, 2015 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Louise Taylor: Unfair ‘bill of rights’."