Oh no, we do not need a sales tax, either local or state. You can put lipstick on that pig by saying it’s only going to give local property tax relief and whatever wonderful local program you’re trying to promote, but I ain’t going to kiss it.
This is how income inequality proceeds. The working poor, especially those who finally have a leg up from an increase in the minimum wage, would suffer the worst from a sales tax. In science class, a useful trope when teaching an aspect of thermodynamics was to compare giving a $50 bill to either a poor college student or to a billionaire. Of course, the reverse is also true — it would pain the student the most to lose $50.
My friends can testify that I foresaw a decade ago that Republicans would propose a sales tax, either local or state, rather than a state income tax when they finally had spent our savings dry. A state income tax, as a percentage of federal income tax, with returns to local entities, is the only fair way to go. I invite the readers to look up what Jay Hammond said about the state income tax.
Let’s vote on it, eh?
— Paul Schwartz
Anchorage
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