Yes, on Delaware Liberal, you are about to see a liberal Democrat attack a columnist for suggesting that we impose a tax. I know, shocking. But here we go.
But something Markell has arbitrarily ruled out is a temporary sales tax. If we can have a temporary pay cut, why not a temporary sales tax? And a sunset provision can be written into a new sales tax law. That’s not the case with a salary cut. Given the odds — we all seem to be using lots of gambling lingo lately — I’ll take my chances on a temporary, “sunsetted” sales tax than a political promise of a temporary state employee pay cut. In addition, there are legal remedies the public can take if a sunsetted law is not properly debated when it expires. No such provision is granted for “temporary” gubernatorial pay cuts.
Ha! I don’t like taxes any more than the next guy. But a reasoned intelligent person will realize that you need them in order to have something called civilization. And since I am a Democrat, I believe taxes should be progressive. Those who earn more income pay more income tax. Simple as that.
Sales taxes and sin taxes and excise taxes are devices we use when we have cut taxes on income and fear raising them again to raise the revenue we lost with the tax cut when times were good but which is needed desparately now.
Delaware is unique in the Mid-Atlantic, and perhaps throughout the entire Eastern seaboard, in that it does not have a sales tax. I know many friends from Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey who specifically travel to Delaware to shop for nearly everything because it has no sales tax. Install a sales tax, no matter if it is a temporary one, and we lose that competitive advantage. Christiana Mall is no King of Prussia. And when the tax goes away, there is no guarantee the shoppers come back.
And further, I am aware of no tax, once levied, that has sunsetted. And the only taxes that I know of that are cut are income taxes. Once you give a stream of revenue to the government, it is near impossible to get it back.