Granholm proposes 2% service tax

Governor Jennifer Granholm proposes 2% service tax

I read with great dismay today Governor Granholm’s proposed state budget changes.

The main changes are the creation of a 2% tax on services, including a business-to-business service tax, and an increase to the already outrageous taxes imposed on tobacco and liquor.

I am incensed with the constant bloat of government. There has been no attempt to balance the budget; she simply intends to increase revenue. When will we elect leaders that can implement self control? Michigan is facing an $800,000,000 deficit. If this government were a large corporation, every executive and department manager would have been fired long ago.

New taxes lead to depression. People have less money to spend and it cost businesses more to operate. We already have difficulty with businesses fleeing Michigan, now the situation will be exacerbated by the Business-to-Business Service tax. Some companies will be driven out of business, or at least out of the state. Higher unemployment will ensue. More taxes will be needed to support the newly unemployed. Simply put, it is going to be an even more difficult economy to work in.

The proper course of action is to prioritize spending. Cut programs at the bottom of the priority list until the budget is balanced. My grandfather once taught me “when you find you’ve dug yourself into a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.” Too bad my grandfather is not the Governor.

Quotes

“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”
-- Thomas Jefferson

On February 8th, 2007 I emailed this essay to Letters To The Editor in the Macomb Daily.