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What people are saying about the book
Across
the South, editorial writers and opinion leaders have great
things to say about the Center's progressive tax reform book:
Dr.
Marty Wiseman of the Stennis Institute of Government
at Mississippi State University, in an 8/6 column by Sid Salter
in the Jackson (MS) Clarion Ledger:
"This
new study is valuable in that I think not only Mississippi
needs to look at substantial tax reforms, but most other
Southern states as well are looking for ways to shift the
burden from the poorest to those more able to pay."
Jackson
(MS) Clarion Ledger, 8/6/06
"Lawmakers
should consider these tax reforms as a basis for bringing
the state's tax structure into the modern era and promoting
a progressive tax system."
Prof.
Hardy Jackson in the Anniston (AL) Star, 7/30/06
"If
done right, this [eliminating sales tax exemptions] would
give states additional and much-needed revenue. It would
simplify the tax code and make it less costly to enforce.
And it would enable the Legislature to pass a sales tax
cut that would help citizens far more than special-interest
exemptions have. But can it be done? And should it be done?
That is something for "thinking leaders" to think
about."
Nick
Charalambous, Anderson (SC) Independent-Mail,
7/28/06:
"Rethinking
the idea of tax relief based on age alone is one of the
top-10 ideas suggested by the Charleston-based Center for
a Better South to make the tax system fairer."
Dr.
Randy Brinson, chairman of Redeem the Vote (http://www.redeemthevote.com)
in the Mobile (AL) Press-Register, 7/16/06:
"Furthermore,
state income tax credits could be used to further their
education, similar to the prepaid college tuition program,
or used to purchase private insurance or health savings
accounts. The idea would be to move low-income workers into
better jobs and ensure better health for them and their
families."
Story
in the Augusta
(GA) Chronicle, 7/10/06:
"Now,
some lawmakers and think tanks are looking at scrapping
the exemptions, or at least some of them, in hopes of advancing
other goals. The Center for a Better South would like to
see the exemptions pitched overboard as part of a plan for
creating what the organization says would be a fairer tax
structure.
"Some
Republicans are taking a look at the exemptions as part
of broader tax-reform efforts that could eventually include
tax relief in other areas balanced out by repealing some
of the exemptions."
Charlotte
(NC) Observer, 7/5/06
"The
Center for a Better South, a nonpartisan think tank based
in Charleston, S.C., concluded that our state's tax system
ranked (alongside Virginia's) as the best in the South.
Alas, that's like tying for first in a 100-yard-dash for
slugs…. If our tax system were a car, we'd have traded
it in long ago. To keep depending on it is costly and irresponsible."
Natchez
(MS) Democrat, 7/5/06
"Much
of what the study proposes as necessary changes do make
a little sense … OK, so even some stranger from South
Carolina can point out the obvious holes in the system.
The real challenge is in making the old, decrepit system
change for the better. Only the Legislature - prodded along
by taxpayers such as you - can do that."
The
Northeast Daily Mississippi Journal, 6/30/06
"Tax
issues always are complex, and they are controversial from
the start of discussions. Mississippi would do itself a
favor - ultimately serving all citizens - in reexamining
tax policies with the goal of maximizing fairness."
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