Taxation Archives - Page 93 of 97 Voice For Liberty

02

Sep

Tax funded lobbyists spending revealed

Tax Funded Lobbyists Spending Revealed By Karl Peterjohn, Kansas Taxpayers Network There are lobbyists and there are taxpayer funded lobbyists roaming the halls of the statehouse during the legislative sessions. A small window on the taxpayer funded lobbying opened up following the two separate legal actions of Attorney General Phill Kline and the Topeka Capital-Journal in seeking spending data from the Schools for Fair Funding organization. The attorney general and the newspaper deserve a pat-on-the-back for fighting for the disclosure of this information. Schools for Fair Funding is the tax funded group of 19 medium and large public school districts…

17

Aug

By Bob Weeks

Sedgwick County surrenders key tax advantage

Sedgwick County Surrenders Key Tax Advantage By Karl Peterjohn, Executive Director, Kansas Taxpayers Network Spirit Aerosystems CEO Jeff Turner defended the massive spending hike that was used as the primary justification for the county's 8.8 percent property tax hike in his editorial August 9, 2006. Turner's support for this increased government spending ignored some important ramifications behind this economically destructive vote. Sedgwick County has an important fiscal advantage over 19 other Kansas counties. Sedgwick County has no community college and hence no community college property tax. That property tax is a major reason why this levy makes the total tax…

12

Aug

By Guest Author

High tax Kansas exposed again

High Tax Kansas Exposed Again By Karl Peterjohn, Executive Director, Kansas Taxpayers Network Businesses and homeowners know that Kansas has high taxes. The appointed and occasionally elected officials setting this state's fiscal policy are often contemptuous of the fiscal burden being imposed upon Kansans but this is a reality that should not continue to be ignored. USA Today reported July 28 that Kansans pay the 14th highest level of per capita property taxes among all 50 states. This was 2004 Census Department data. The high property tax in Kansas means that Kansans pay well above the U.S. average property tax…

02

Aug

By Bob Weeks

Government Charity in Sedgwick County

At the July 25, 2006 Sedgwick County Commission meeting, during the public hearing on the proposed 2007 Sedgwick County budget, a speaker said this in support of funding for mental health services: "I agree with the previous presenter and I'd be willing to forego a few cheeseburgers this year so that if I need to pay more taxes to help provide services, I'm willing to do that." It hardly seems necessary to remind this speaker that she may give whatever she wants of her time and money to any organization she wants. She doesn't need the Sedgwick County Commission to…

27

Jun

By Bob Weeks

The advantage of being Warren Buffet

The recent news that Warren Buffet is giving away the bulk of his fortune to charity is good news to me, as I greatly prefer private charity to government spending of taxes. That's true for me even if Mr. Buffet were to use his philanthropy to support causes that I might not agree with. But there is an irony here. Mr. Buffet is a vocal supporter of the inheritance tax (or estate tax or death tax). By giving away much of his wealth, he escapes paying the tax he wants others to pay. Mr. Buffet is wealthy enough that he…

25

May

By Bob Weeks

Kansas Spends While Neighboring States Invest

Writing from Gainesville, Florida Thank you to Karl Peterjohn of the Kansas Taxpayers Network for this fine editorial. I have learned that the education lobby in Kansas is very effective in pursuing their agenda in Topeka. I have also learned that the goals of the education lobby, and the teachers union in particular, are not often in the best interests of Kansas schoolchildren. The worst thing that happened in Topeka this legislative session was that, as far as I can tell, no progress was made in allowing parents greater choice in where to send their children to school. In fact,…

14

May

By Bob Weeks

Paying for tax cuts

Commentary surrounding two recent tax cuts reveals the backwards thinking about taxes that is common. A New York Times editorial from May 11, 2006 asks this question: "Whose taxes will be raised in the future to pay for today's tax giveaways?" A question like this reveals several prevalent lines of thinking: First, that the government has a legitimate claim on a large part of our incomes, and that if the government "gives" any of that claim back to us, it somehow has to be paid for. Second, it's the people who "give" tax money to the government, not the government…

28

Mar

By Bob Weeks

Increase our awareness of taxes

Writing from Miami, Florida As the annual tax deadline is upon us, we should take a moment to examine our level of awareness of the taxes we pay. Many families don't pay any federal income tax. According to a study by the Tax Foundation (link: http://www.taxfoundation.org/ff/zerotaxfilers.html) 58 million households, representing some 122 million people, of 44 percent of the U.S. population, pay no federal income tax. I made a few calculations, and Kiplinger's TaxCut software for 2004 shows that a family with two children and $40,000 income (that's approximately the median household income in Wichita), taking the standard deductions, pays…

06

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Tax increment financing in Iowa

Writing from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Readers of The Voice For Liberty in Wichita are well aware that I believe that when the government provides subsidies to businesses -- either in the form of cash payments or preferential tax treatment -- we create a corrosive business environment. Government picks winners and losers for political reasons, rather than letting the market decide which companies are doing a good job. Government also spends money inefficiently. Instead of letting the market decide where to best allocate capital, government chooses who receives capital taken from the people through taxation according to the whims of politicians…

19

Jan

By Bob Weeks

The decline In Kansas continues

The Decline In Kansas Continues By Karl Peterjohn, Executive Director Kansas Taxpayers Network January 17, 2006 The relative decline of Kansas continues. This decline is vividly demonstrated when state and federal revenue growth is examined. Total federal revenues grew 13.9 percent last year to total $2.142 trillion dollars. This was an increase in federal revenues of $262 billion. This increase was almost twice the percentage rate of growth of Kansas state revenues that grew only 7.1 percent or $322 million in fiscal year 2005 that ended June 30, 2005. The federal revenue figures are for the fiscal year that ended…