Tag: taxes

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State Democrats Expected to Push Universal Pre-K, Recycling, Roads, and More

State Capitol (Photo: Tennessee State Government)

Tennessee Democrats recently unveiled legislation they’ll push in January’s session of the Tennessee General Assembly on issues of jobs, universal pre-K, and roads — and they issued questions on repealing the state sales tax on groceries. 

Universal pre-K   

Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) and Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville introduced a bill to provide free, universal pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds in Tennessee. The proposal aims to reduce childcare costs, boost family incomes, and improve educational outcomes statewide.

The bill would require all school districts to offer pre-K, using a new funding mechanism: a 9.5 percent tax on social media advertising by major tech companies operating in Tennessee. Universal pre-K increases parental earnings by 21 percent and delivers $5.51 in benefits for every dollar invested, according to the nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research. 

“Every child deserves access to a great education, and universal pre-K is the best way to ensure that opportunity begins at the earliest stages of learning,” Oliver, a working mother of three, said in a statement. “This isn’t just an investment in our kids; it’s an economic lifeline for working families. Universal pre-K reduces childcare costs, boosts family incomes, and strengthens Tennessee’s workforce. It’s time to deliver real relief to families who are stretched too thin.”

Only 20 percent of Tennessee’s 4-year-olds are enrolled in state pre-K programs, according to the nonpartisan National Institute for Early Education Research. Oliver and Behn argue their plan will close this gap and bolster Tennessee’s economy.

“Working families are the backbone of Tennessee, but far too many struggle to afford high-quality preschool for their children,” said Rep. Behn. “This legislation cuts costs, gives families a raise, and ensures every child gets a strong start in life. The research is clear: when families have access to free pre-K, parents can work more, earn more, and build a more secure future for their children. It’s a win for families, businesses, and the state economy.”

Waste to Jobs

Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) introduced the Tennessee Waste to Jobs Act, a bill to transform the state’s waste management system by expanding recycling access, reducing landfill waste, creating over 7,700 jobs, and having packing producers to pay for it.

Under the legislation, the producers who create product packaging would join a statewide Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO), which will work with local governments to manage and fund recycling programs using an innovative extended producer responsibility model. Producers will finance recycling services based on the type and volume of packaging they produce, freeing local governments from bearing these costs.

The network would also work with local governments to implement programs to educate consumers, reduce waste, and expand recycling access underserved areas. Counties with a population of less than 200,000 would have to opt into the program.

Campbell said the bill could divert and repurpose 950,000 tons of waste bound for landfills. 

“Tennessee is at a crossroads,” Campbell said in a statement. “We can continue to watch our landfills overflow, and our resources go to waste, or we can lead the Southeast in building a robust recycling economy that works for our families, businesses, and future.

“The Tennessee Waste to Jobs Act creates over 7,700 jobs, brings $300 million annually into our state, and ensures local governments save millions while providing access to recycling for every community that opts in to the program.”

Tennessee fell one spot on Ball’s annual recycling report. The state recycles 5 percent of its waste. This is down slightly from 2021 to earn Tennessee a 48th ranking of 50 states. 

Read more about Tennessee’s recycling trends from Ball here: 

TENNESSEEDownload

“Rocky Top, Not Rocky Roads”

Tennessee Democrats are also expected to push an infrastructure plan next year to battle the state’s “growing traffic crisis,” and “crumbling transportation infrastructure,” laying blame at the feet of the Republican supermajority. 

Read more about it in our previous story here.

In a Nashville news conference in October, lawmakers launched the “Rocky Top, Not Rocky Roads” campaign, highlighting road conditions and traffic congestion. They pointed to an annual state infrastructure audit that said the state now faces a $34 billion backlog in transportation projects. 

The plan would have Tennessee’s government issuing debt rather than relying on in-hand revenues to increase the state’s ability to invest in large-scale infrastructure programs, the lawmakers said.  

Grocery tax cut

Democrats have pushed the GOP supermajority to cut the taxes on groceries in Tennessee. When Gov. Bill Lee paused the tax for 30 days back in 2017, Democrats said they’d pushed the idea for a decade.

Oliver and Behn worked this past legislative session to eliminate Tennessee’s sales tax on groceries. The effort was thwarted and the two said, “Republicans in the state legislature opted to pass a $5.5 billion tax handout for large corporations instead.”

But the GOP seems poised to review the tax cut next session. House Bill 21 says it would exempt “from the state sales and use tax the retail sale of food and food ingredients.” Its sponsors are state Rep. Elaine Davis (R-Knoxville) and House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland).

Democrats said, based on this year’s review of cutting the tax, it would leave a $755 million hole in the state budget. So far, Republicans have not said how they’d replace that money.

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Politics Politics Feature

Slowdown Coming

Photo: Georgios Kollidas | Dreamstime.com

With pressure building for potential tax increases in Memphis city government, the outlook for additional aid from state government took a hit Monday, as the State Funding Board acknowledged weaker-than-expected revenues and set a deliberately slow growth rate.

The board, composed of the state’s three constitutional officers and the state finance commissioner, set a growth rate in general fund revenue of 1 percent to 2 percent and total tax growth at 1.25 percent to 2.15 percent for fiscal 2025-26. That is on the heels of an estimated total growth rate projection for fiscal 2024-25 of -1.68 percent to -1.34 percent. 

Economic growth has ground down considerably in Tennessee after a double-digit revenue windfall of two years ago. Among other factors, the state is facing a $1.9 billion business tax reduction stemming from legislative approval of Governor Bill Lee’s proposal to eliminate the property portion of the state’s franchise and excise taxes. That move followed additional tax breaks for businesses the previous year. The Department of Revenue has processed nearly $900 million in rebates this year, and more are expected.

On the eve of the oncoming 2025 legislative session, the weak budget outlook could affect lawmakers’ decisions, leaving in the lurch not only localities’ requests for aid but funding requests from state agencies totaling over $4.2 billion. The revenue forecast isn’t expected to come close to matching that figure, even with anticipated federal funds covering some of the costs.

• Two Memphians are finalists to succeed soon-to-be-retiring state Court of Appeals Judge Arnold Goldin of Memphis: Shelby County Circuit Judge Valerie Smith and interim Memphis Chancellor Jim Newsom. A third candidate is Jackson Chancellor Steve Maroney, a former chair of the Madison County Republican Party.

Smith was a member of a three-judge chancery court panel that dismissed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the state’s school voucher program. The decision was later reversed by the Court of Appeals. 

Newsom was named in 2015 to a Chancery Court position by former Governor Bill Haslam but was defeated for re-election in 2016 by current Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins. He was reappointed interim chancellor this past summer by Governor Lee to assume the duties of Chancellor Jim Kyle, who has been disabled by illness.

• The three gun-safety measures approved resoundingly by Memphis voters earlier this month via ballot referenda have predictably come under legal challenge. The Tennessee Firearms Association has filed a lawsuit in Shelby County Circuit Court seeking to block city government from activating the measures. 

In a sense, the gun-lobby group’s suit is pointless, in that backers of the referenda conceded that voter approval of the measures was conditional on the will and pleasure of state government, which had made clear that state policy at this point would disallow the implementation of the three measures.

State House Speaker Cameron Sexton had angrily opposed the referenda as antithetical to state law and threatened to retaliate by cutting Memphis off from various state-shared revenues if the measures were enacted.

The measures, certified for the ballot by the city council, would re-institute a requirement locally for gun-carry permits, ban the sale of assault weapons, and enable the local judiciary to impose red-flag laws allowing confiscation of weapons from individuals certified as risks to public safety.

Mindful of Sexton’s attitude, backed by Governor Lee, the Shelby County Election Commission originally acted to remove the referendum measures from the November ballot, but they were approved for the ballot by Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson.

• It begins to look as though the beleaguered Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert will survive various ouster attempts and will survive in office until the election of 2026, when she will be term-limited.

Her latest reprieve came from Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson, who disallowed an ouster petition from attorney Robert Meyers, ruling that such an action had to be pursued by Shelby County Attorney Marlinee Iverson, who had recused herself.

Judge Corbin-Johnson had previously disallowed an ouster attempt from Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp, who was acting as a special prosecutor. 

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News The Fly-By

MEMernet: PILOTs and Taxes, Nice

(Posted to Instagram by Memphis City Council)

PILOTs and Taxes

Many Memphians reacted to the Memphis City Council’s recent hikes on taxes and fees with one question: Why are residents getting charged more while we hand out tax cuts to businesses all the time? Daniel Duckworth took this question to Nextdoor.

“Shelby County raised the wheel tax in hopes of bringing in $17 million,” he wrote. “In the meantime, businesses got $41 million in tax breaks in the county. We’re giving large businesses and corporations welfare and guaranteed income.”

Jay Limbaugh said, “The Memphis market is not as attractive as Nashville or Knoxville. We have to bribe companies to come and invest. Simple.” 

Some suggested we have to use corporate handouts because our labor pool sucks. Other neighbors wondered if the city could save money with a consolidated government, like Nashville. One just wanted her yard waste picked up on time.   

Nice

Posted to YouTube by Adam and Madalyn

Amid the death and destruction you’ll find if you ever search YouTube for “Memphis,” you also occasionally find just some really nice love letters to the city from outsiders. Travel vloggers Adam and Madalyn visited recently; ate barbecue at Cozy Corner, Central BBQ, and The Bar-B-Q Shop; and wandered around Bass Pro and Beale Street. If you need a refresh on the city, check it out.  

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Money Matters: Elena Delavega Says System Fails to Raise All Boats

Credit: vepar5 | Adobe Stock and University of Memphis

Our cover story this week looks at issues stoking the embers of class struggles in Tennessee. 

School vouchers, flagging revenues, and even that brief “tax holiday” on groceries have some wondering for whom does the state’s Republican-dominated government work? 

State revenues will flatten this year, according to experts, after years of increases. This is thanks, in large part, to big tax breaks the legislature approved for business owners last year.

This “business-friendly” policy framework, which cuts taxes for the business class in hopes of prosperity for everyone, found harsh critics in economists with the national Economic Policy Institute. 

Elena Delavega is a professor at the University of Memphis, a Memphis poverty expert, and co-author of the annual Memphis Poverty Fact Sheet, along with Gregory M. Blumenthal. She said the low-tax system does not work for everyone and stymies investments in cities. Here’s what she told us in a recent interview. — Toby Sells 

(This interview has been edited for clarity.) 

Memphis Flyer: Does this “business-friendly” economic system work for everyone?

Elena Delavega: It may help two or three people at the very top, but it ends up hurting everybody else by denying the investment in the community that would make it a livable community, that would attract people who can have a choice [of a place to live].

So, it’s sort of like this downward spiral. We don’t invest and then become even less attractive. Then, we cut taxes. Then, there is less money for investment. We cut more taxes and so on.

So, that’s a no.

No, it doesn’t because in the end, these companies come, take advantage of the tax breaks for a little while, and then leave. We’ve observed this again, and again, and again. 

In the end, if companies cannot attract people to work for them — if we cannot attract highly educated people and we’re not funding schools to the degree we need to educate people that can be hired by those companies — the low wages and cutting taxes [system] is actually a myth. 

You can cut as much as you can, but unless you find ways to make more money, it really is a fallacy.  So, what ends up happening is companies cannot attract people to move here. They also cannot hire people, and they leave. Or, people are not interested because there are no amenities and the only way to do that is to actually have higher taxes.

How does this all affect our poverty situation?

It’s the policies at the top that end up creating inequality and poverty, but they hurt everyone. 

You shoot yourself in the foot because abandoned areas become not interesting to businesses. So we’re here begging, “Oh my god, let’s help businesses.” But businesses are choosing to go out to cities that provide good amenities, good schools, good roads, but also good theaters, good parks, good museums because these are the things that people find interesting and where those with money want to live. 

You’re then able to attract businesses not by getting yourself naked and taking off your clothes in the middle of the road, but by actually having an attractive city. Then, the money is going to come. You’re not having to cut your tax base. The money is now sufficient.

You also need to have a middle class to support your businesses. You can put tons of money on the three people at the top, but the reality is … can they drink — what? — 365 cups of coffee in a year? 

But if you have 200,000 adults that are able to buy a cup of coffee once a day or going to a restaurant once a week or twice a week … now you have the people who can actually support [businesses]. If you don’t have people able to support your businesses, your economy is going to go on a downward spiral. 

When you put the money in the hands of the very few at the top, what you have is a feudal system. It has a bunch of servants at the bottom who cannot afford to have anything and three very wealthy people at the top, who cannot support all the other businesses.

If you put the money in the hands of those at the bottom … if you raised the minimum wage … that would be a fantastic way [to boost the economy] because now people at the bottom are able to all go buy shoes and all go buy coffee and all go to restaurants. So, the money starts circulating and what you have is an upward spiral that really lifts all boats.

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Money Matters: Sen. London Lamar Says Tax Reform Benefits the Wealthy

Credit: vepar5 | Adobe Stock and State of Tennessee
Credit: vepar5 | Adobe Stock and State of Tennessee

Our cover story this week looks at issues stoking the embers of class struggles in Tennessee. 

School vouchers, flagging revenues, and even that brief “tax holiday” on groceries have some wondering for whom does the state’s Republican-dominated government work? 

State revenues will flatten this year, according to experts, after years of increases. This is thanks, in large part, to big tax breaks the legislature approved for business owners last year.

This “business-friendly” policy framework, which cuts taxes for the business class in hopes of prosperity for everyone, found harsh critics in economists with the national Economic Policy Institute. 

Another harsh critic of Tennessee’s version is Memphis state Sen. London Lamar. Here’s what she told us in a recent interview. — Toby Sells 

(This interview has been edited for clarity.) 

Memphis Flyer: Does Tennessee economic policy work for most folks in Tennessee? 

Sen. London Lamar: Our tax policy is incentivizing businesses for keeping people poor. 

I say that because when you think about since 2011 and when the Republicans got in office, the main tax reform and benefits have truly benefited the wealthy and big corporations. 

When you look back since 2011 … think about it. You had a repeal of the millionaire estate tax. You have a repeal of the luxury gift tax. A repeal of income taxes on stocks and bonds. A reduction of the jet fuel tax. Corporate exemptions to the sales tax and exemptions for corporate income tax. 

So, all of these major policy reforms around taxation have all been policies to benefit corporations and rich people. So the question is,  where are the priorities for those citizens who are working the hardest to contribute to our economy?  

If we are really about seeing … everybody being able to elevate their economic status, then you would demand that there be a set minimum wage, understanding the cost of housing inflation, taking into account people who have children and families they got to feed, the cost of housing, rent, being able to be approved for housing loans based on income. You got to think about that and setting a basic living standard where people can know they can go to work and be able to feed themselves. 

Secondly, I just feel like if Tennessee wanted to see equity in the system, they would demand a minimum wage because everybody improves in my opinion, not only Black and brown communities, but everybody. 

But because there’s so few regulations on what business have to pay, and the hiring practices — this is a right-to-fire state or a right-to-work state, basically — I think that our policies don’t reflect the values of trying to create an equitable workplace. The data show you that when these policies are not in place, Black people and brown people are suffering the most.

As someone who’s living in Memphis, Tennessee — that’s predominantly African American — you can look at our school system where half our kids are living below the poverty line, and the state of housing, and just the livelihood and the economic status of Black people in our city that is actually affected by it. It’s sad and it should be a crime.

I don’t think Tennessee is oblivious to its impact on which communities [it affects the most]. Again, I think they’re incentivizing businesses to keep people poor, knowing that Black and brown people are going to be at the brunt of that. 

When you think of businesses in Memphis, they’re like warehouse jobs … and temp services that people have to rely on. That’s where where a large population of Black people are working at. But they’re paying them [minimum wage]. $15 an hour is still really not affordable, to be honest, if they’re getting that.

Because they’re temp workers, are they getting healthcare services? No. Getting healthcare off the marketplace is still really expensive.  So, these people are going without healthcare services, making probably nothing, and they have to work 16 to 17 hour shifts just to make sure they can meet ends meet. 

Then what does that lead to? Them not being able to watch their kids. And those other kids that’s getting in trouble out here in Memphis streets.

So, how we are building our economic base in Tennessee and the South is perpetrating a continuous system of poverty for Black and brown people? There’s not another study that needs to be shown that this is going to be the result. It’s just a matter of our politicians deciding to continue to reinforce this system or change their policies.  

Rank-and-file taxpayers got a temporary reprieve from grocery taxes last year. But they went right back on the books while those businesses taxes were made permanent. What do you think about that?

Again, it’s about policy priorities. You know that grocery tax will help middle, working, and poor-class families tremendously.  That loss of money could be made up if we kept many of these tax decisions in place that we had previously,  right? 

So, you can’t say that you don’t have no money. We could have had the money, but you decided to break off corporations and rich people over being able to sit here and put in a tax policy that supports the lower, working class.

This study says economic policies like there are “rooted in racism.” What do you think about that?

I do think it’s rooted in racism. As long as Black and brown people aren’t economically viable, then they don’t have really any impact politically. You can look at that in the campaign funding of Black candidates in Tennessee. We’re funded far less than Republican white folks, even white Democrats. As long as our community stays poor, then we can’t compete against rich people who have the ability, access, and resources to play in a political game in a real way. 

I think this system of racism is reinforced through classism. As long as you keep people of color poor, other white folks get to stay on top. This, more than likely, correlates to who owns the most businesses that are doing well. Who owns the corporations? What’s the income makeup of policymakers and people that they’re voting to benefit? So, you can look at all those things, not just the economics side. It’s racism that is rooted in the whole system.  

Anything I left out or that you’d like to add?

I want to challenge business owners and stakeholders and people of influence in the system to ask themselves, “Do you want to keep the status quo? Or, do you want to start putting us on the path for better?”

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Lawmakers: Majority of Tennessee Corporations Pay No State Income Tax

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Tennessee Republicans maimed (and likely killed) bills this session that would have allowed state taxpayers to know which corporations pay no state corporate income taxes. 

The bills were carried by Nashville Democrats Sen. Heidi Campbell and Rep. John Ray Clemmons. Each bill got brief hearings this month. Both passed committee votes and both got negative recommendations from a majority of lawmakers on those committees.

Campbell and Clemmons said the Tennessee Department of Revenue (TDOR) told them more than 60 percent of corporations here pay no state income tax, and “that is jarring to hear,” Campbell said. About 27 percent of Tennessee companies that report more than $1 billion in taxable income to the federal government paid zero Tennessee income taxes, she said.

“We don’t know which companies are paying nothing because the state law shields that information from public view.”

Sen. Heidi Campbell

“We don’t know which companies are paying nothing because the state law shields that information from public view,” Campbell said. “This bill will require publicly traded companies to report what they pay or don’t pay to the public. So, we can better understand how our current tax code is working.” 

 Clemmons said that, according to a report from the D.C.-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, three Tennessee companies paid no federal taxes in 2020: FedEx Corporation, Franklin-based hospital operator Community Health Systems, and Chattanooga-based insurance company Unum Group. However, current state law does not allow the public to know if these companies paid any Tennessee taxes. 

Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Clemmons said Tennessee has the second-highest sales tax in the country and is one of only a few states that taxes groceries. Sales and use taxes were the biggest chunk of the state’s 2022 budget, comprising more than 61 percent ($12.8 billion) of the budget, according to the TDOR. Clemmons called these “regressive taxes paid by working families.” Franchise and excise taxes (corporate income taxes) were second, making up more than 21 percent ($4.5 billion) of the budget.   

Tennessee Department of Revenue

“There are no loopholes for families buying groceries,” Clemmons said. “There are no loopholes for parents buying back-to-school clothes. There are no loopholes for property owners paying higher rates to make up for corporations [that are] not paying a dime. 

“This bill does not raise taxes on anyone. It simply provides some transparency so the hardworking people of Tennessee, who pay their taxes, will know which big corporations are paying what they owe and which are not.” 

Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Rep. Sabi Kumar (R-Springfield) said, “The implication that those who don’t pay taxes are not paying their fair share is a rather subjective matter.” He said a corporation’s responsibility is to “pay as little tax as they can following the law.” With this, Kumar said, “The problem is with the law, not with the fact that just because somebody does not pay taxes are doing something wrong.”

A corporation’s responsibility is to “pay as little tax as they can following the law.”

Rep. Sabi Kumar

“So, I would like to say that as a pro-business state, we need to realize it is okay to pay the legal share [of taxes], not the fair share as defined by somebody and that interpretation differs with everybody.” 

The information sought by the bills is disclosed on the federal level, required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to a 2022 report from the D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute. But the SEC does not require the data on state taxes.

“The failure to require corporations to disclose their taxes allows them to unfairly avoid public scrutiny when they avoid paying billions in taxes,” reads the report. “Without information on how much corporations actually pay at the state and local levels, there is no way to determine whether or not they are paying their fair share.”

Reclaiming corporate tax revenues: Corporate income tax revenues are critical to the ability of state and local governments to provide basic services to their residents

State and local governments are missing out on a range of $43 billion-$57 billion in taxes from these companies, the report said.   

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News News Feature

Three Important Tax Concepts

Photo: Jon Tyson | Unsplash

The modern U.S. income tax began in 1913, and at first it was very simple. Since then, virtually every congress and administration has layered on additional complexity to the point that the tax code is thousands of pages long and no one person can be expected to be competent in every nuance of tax.

As your income and assets grow, tax planning is more and more important. Consulting an expert is almost always a good idea, but here are three general concepts that cover a lot of ground when it comes to working through this complexity via personal tax planning.

Tax advantaged saving

Depending on income, employment status, and employee benefits, there are various tax-advantaged ways to save. Things like 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, traditional and Roth IRAs, and HSAs are all potentially advantageous from a tax perspective. Generally, they either allow you to exclude money from your taxable income (to save taxes today) or allow you to pay taxes now but let the money grow tax free (so you can save on taxes in the future). Every situation is different, but it is likely in your best interest to max out these types of programs, even if you feel like you have “too much” money locked away in IRAs, or even if you want to retire early. There are many ways to access retirement accounts early, such as the rule of 55, Substantially Equal Periodic Payments, or Roth Conversion Ladders.

Roth Conversions

In traditional IRAs or 401(k)s, the money going in is not taxed but any eventual withdrawals are taxed like ordinary income. With “Roth” accounts, the money going in is fully taxed but then any eventual distributions are generally tax free. There is a way to convert traditional money to Roth at any time — you just have to treat the money converted as though it’s income which is taxed. Usually, it’s best to defer taxes as long as possible, but in some cases it makes sense to take the hit and pay taxes early. If you plot a typical person’s lifetime tax paid, it is U-shaped — income and therefore taxes paid are higher while working, get lower after retirement, and then rise later in life when required minimum distributions create taxable income. It can make sense to do Roth conversions during those low tax years just after retirement when you’re likely in a low tax bracket.

Charitable giving strategies

Most people become more charitably inclined as they age, and understand the tax benefits that giving can bring. There are a number of strategies that can make doing good do even better when it comes to your tax liability. Donor Advised Funds are a way to move money to an account and take the full deduction at the time of the gift. You can never take back the gift, but you can continue to control it in the sense that the money can stay invested and can be donated over time to the charities of your choice. This lets donors take a larger deduction in certain high-tax times, so gifting can be bunched up and then used over multiple years in the future. Later in life, Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) can be made directly from IRAs to charity to meet RMD requirements.

Conclusion

These concepts are only the beginning of a comprehensive tax plan, especially if your income and assets are large. While these ideas are a good start, there’s no substitute for real advice from tax professionals and financial advisors. We all have a responsibility to pay our taxes, but there’s no reason to ignore the opportunities afforded by the tax code when planning for your future — and it’s never too early to begin!

Gene Gard is Chief Investment Officer at Telarray, a Memphis-based wealth management firm that helps families navigate investment, tax, estate, and retirement decisions. Ask him your questions or schedule an objective, no-pressure portfolio review at letstalk@telarrayadvisors.com. Sign up for the next free online seminar on the Events tab at telarrayadvisors.com.

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Opinion Viewpoint

Happy Tax Day

(Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash)

Yes, it’s That Day.

Show of hands — who loves paying their federal taxes? No one?

Okay, let’s hear why not. Warning: I’m going to fact-check you.

Rancher: My taxes go to support welfare mothers and I work for a living. It’s not fair. 

Fact-check: First, thank you for your hard work. In truth, however, just eight percent of our income taxes go to the social safety net for people in poverty and many of the recipients are poor rural working folks. And let’s be fair, farm subsidies, including cattle ranchers, could be considered another form of welfare, that is, pay for no work in many cases, given out in massive amounts above and beyond any other administration by Trump, seemingly to consolidate support from rural voters. 

Senior citizen: My taxes go to support education but my kids are all adults. Why should my taxes support other people’s kids?

Young single person with no kids: My objection exactly!

Married couple without children: We decided not to have kids, so this is our protest too.

Fact-check: Fair enough. I suppose we could eliminate education from the federal budget. That would lower your income taxes by approximately three percent. While we are at it, perhaps we should eliminate the portion of the taxes that go to things many people never use? There are millions of Americans who oppose vaccines, so perhaps no funding for them. Millions of Americans do not fly, so why make them pay for the Federal Aviation Administration’s $18 billion? We could go on …

Veteran: I served, so why should I pay taxes when others didn’t serve?

Fact-check: Good question. We do have to acknowledge that the military budget is huge, by far the largest government agency funded by our income taxes, with about 22 percent of your tax dollars paying for the current military and another 15 percent paying for a combination of the national debt due to military spending and veterans’ benefits. And others serve as well, wouldn’t you agree? The dangers you faced were terrible, as shown by the 18,571 active duty military who died between 2006-2021. Domestically, those numbers are only rivaled by delivery drivers, although in terms of fatalities per 100,000 workers, loggers have a far more dangerous job than military members or police. 

Jeff Bezos: I don’t personally pay taxes, hahahaha.

Fact-check: Yeah, the rest of us underwrite your lavish lifestyle. Across the board, the very wealthy pay just 8.2 percent income taxes, but Jeff, we know you’re trying to humble brag about your amazing scam, so we looked into it and you paid a bit less than one percent tax rate, not zero. Of course the average taxpayer, whose income actually decreased during the last portion of the Trump years, is stuck at around 14 percent, nearly double what most rich people pay.

Right-to-Lifer: I object to my taxes being used to slaughter babies.

Fact-check: Well, again, fair point. In this case, to remedy that objection, we would need to eliminate the Pentagon budget. The civilians, including babies, killed by U.S. military actions in the Global War on Terror amount to at least 387,000 people, and that doesn’t count the civilians killed by other militaries we subsidize and supply, such as Saudi Arabia and Israel. 

Okay, I know everyone’s happy now! Get back to work!
Dr. Tom H. Hastings is Coördinator of Conflict Resolution BA/BS degree programs and certificates at Portland State University, PeaceVoice Senior Editor, and on occasion an expert witness for the defense of civil resisters in court.

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News Blog News Feature

Juneteenth Questioned as National Holiday, West Tennessee’s Birthday Poster, Tax Coffers Full, and, Like, A Ton of Tourism Jobs

(Credit: state of Tennessee)

Questioning Juneteenth

With tons of Juneteenth celebrations on the horizon for Memphis this weekend, a national group of Black conservative leaders want a halt to make the day a national holiday. 

2019 Memphis Juneteenth Urban Music Festival (Credit: Michael Donahue)

Project 21, “the leading voice of Black conservatives for over 25 years” and sponsored by the D.C.-based National Center for Public Policy Research, said making Juneteenth a national holiday could further divide Americans. 

”I constantly hear everyone taking about unity, but would a federal holiday end up being a unifier?” Project 21 member Marie Fischer asked in a news release. “Or, would it give fuel to those who support critical race theory by pointing out a day that marks one group as an oppressor and another as the oppressed? 

“Such a holiday could be easily hijacked by those who insist that Blacks only advance when it benefits white elites. Nothing seems to get pushed these days unless it fits a specific narrative.” 

A birthday poster

(Credit: State of Tennessee)

Tennessee is readying to celebrate 225 years of statehood, and posters for each of the state’s three Grand Divisions were unveiled Thursday. 

Posters for each Grand Division feature music and a musical instrument. Middle Tennessee (home of Nashville) got an acoustic guitar. East Tennessee (birthplace of country music) got a fiddle. West Tennessee got an electric guitar that looks much like Lucille, B.B. King’s famous six-string. 

The West Tennessee poster also features a Stax album bursting with sun rays, looking like those from Sun Studios in an interesting mash-up. West Tennessee also got a big river, river boats, a plow, and some grain, noting the region’s rich agricultural history, and a bald cypress tree. 

(Credit: State of Tennessee)

Not too bad for state leaders. If you believe the standard Tennessee license plate, you’d think it’s completely covered by the Smokey Mountains. 

Tax coffers runneth over (by $432M)

Tennessee tax coffers were fuller than expected for the month of May.

May tax revenues were $1.6 billion, according to Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Butch Eley. That figure is $432 million more than estimates. State tax revenues were $587.3 million more than May 2020 and the overall growth rate was 59.8 percent.

“Just as April tax revenue receipts revealed substantial growth, May state tax revenues continue to reflect extraordinary increases compared to this same time last year when most economic activity was weakened because of the pandemic,” Eley said. “When comparing May 2021 tax growth to May 2019, the monthly growth is 34.5 percent rather than the 59.8 percent growth over May 2020.”

Sales tax revenue grew across all industries, except for groceries and food stores, which saw slight reductions. 

Tourism/hospitality jobs: we got ’em

State leaders are hoping to help attract workers to the state’s tourism sector, the second-largest industry in Tennessee. 

The “Come Work, Come Play” campaign launched this week by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and HospitalityTN. It “urges prospective employees to consider hospitality jobs for their flexible hours, career advancement opportunities, and strong sense of community.”

(Credit: State of Tennessee)

“Tens of thousands of Tennesseans lost their jobs during the pandemic and the leisure and hospitality industry was hit the hardest, accounting for 72.3 percent of net jobs lost in the state over 2019,” according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Tennessee’s leisure and hospitality industry added 9,100 jobs in April 2021. 

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State: Grocery, Furniture Sales Up, Retail and Restaurant Sales Down

CREDIT: Kroger.com

Kroger.com

Kroger

In Tennessee, sales of building materials and groceries were up last month while retailers, restaurants, and bars continued to see declines.

In all, though, Tennessee tax revenues in August were higher than they were a year ago, buoyed by federal stimulus funds, according to to Tennessee Finance and Administration Commissioner Butch Eley. August revenues were $1.2 billion, he said. The figure is up $22 million over August 2019 and $115.1 million more than budget estimates.

“Consumer activity for the month of July, reflected in August’s sales tax receipts, continued to outperform expectations as federal stimulus resources remained a large part of the state’s strong performance,” Eley said in a statement. “While tax receipts from building material suppliers, food stores, furniture, and home appliance retailers have increased significantly compared to last year, apparel stores, many small retailers, restaurants, and bars continue to experience losses due to decreased sales activity.”

August marked the first month of the state’s new fiscal year. Eley said his office will “remain cautiously optimistic” but will “continue to monitor economic activity and revenue trends to ensure fiscal stability.”

Here are some other points of interest from the August report:

• General fund revenues were $108.6 million more than the August estimate. The four other funds that share in state tax revenues were $6.5 million more than the estimates.

• Sales tax revenues were $103 million more than the estimate for August. The August growth rate was 3.83 percent.

• Gasoline and motor fuel revenues decreased by 7.75 percent from August of 2019 and were $2.3 million less than the budgeted estimate of $103.4 million.

• Business tax revenues were $1 million less than the August estimate of $9 million.

• Tobacco tax revenues for the month were less than budgeted estimates by $1 million.

• Motor vehicle registration revenues were $4 million more than the August estimate of $26.4 million.