| Across the state, antitax advocates battle increases By
TOM SHARP, Associated Press
NASHVILLE - With no general income tax, Tennessee already has the lowest tax burden in the country. But a band of anti-tax advocates still longs for less. The members of Tennessee Tax Revolt are working to defeat several proposed tax increases on the ballot Nov. 2. The group serves as a clearinghouse for antitax efforts, with a small number of volunteers, a Web site, a 5,000-name e-mail list and enough sympathizers to force referendums on at least seven wheel tax increases. "Government is so institutionalized that there is this arrogance that citizens don't matter anymore, and that's the frustration we see time and time again," Tennessee Tax Revolt spokesman Ben Cunningham said. Some efforts go further than opposing proposed tax increases. In Carter County, two men are trying to force a vote on whether to eliminate the existing local option sales tax - a critical element of the local government's finances. Tennessee Tax Revolt emerged from the heated state income tax battle that began in Nashville in the fall of 1999. Tennessee is one of nine states without a general income tax, and the most recent effort to pass one failed amid raucous protests that eventually saw riot troopers stationed at the foot of the Capitol steps. Since that battle, Tennessee Tax Revolt has stayed in business by helping opponents of local tax increases around the state. It is a relatively target-rich environment since many counties are struggling with state and federal funding cutbacks. The county commissions in Williamson, Cheatham, Knox, Hardin, Dickson, Carroll and Bedford counties either have approved or are on the verge of approving or increasing wheel taxes. Knox County passed a contingent property tax increase that would go into effect if the wheel tax boost is rejected. But tax revolt is in the air. Six Tennessee counties rejected either sales tax increases or wheel tax proposals in August referendums. In most cases, Cunningham says, the opposition stems from a perceived disconnect between the government and its citizens. "The elected representatives and the politicians are well versed in the government budget, but they don't know about the personal budgets," Cunningham said. "People are saying, 'Look, I've got considerations in my own personal budget, and I'd like some input on this.' " Bruce Barry, a professor of management and sociology at Vanderbilt University, noted the antitax sentiment is not unique to Tennessee. "Fiscal conservatives have been preaching for some time that taxes are bad. They've been fomenting that attitude in people, independent of what taxes do," he said. "You could argue they have successfully detached attitudes about paying taxes from the things that taxes fund." The second part of the ideology, he said, is to argue that government can't solve various social problems, and even if it could, throwing more money at them doesn't help. Copyright 2004, Associated Press. All rights reserved. |