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Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Legislature / Woods Income Tax Resolution Falls Into Black Hole

Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Apr 1, 2009 at 11:55 AM

click to enlarge briankelsey_282_29.jpg
Rep. Brian Kelsey threw a hissy fit a few minutes ago in the hallway here at the legislature, accusing Democrats and Republicans alike of secretly supporting a state income tax. His little tirade came after the House budget subcommittee basically deep-sixed his resolution to ask voters to amend the state constitution to ban the income tax. Not for nothing is the subcommittee known as the Black Hole, that astronomical place into which objects vanish never to be seen again. "A number of people in either party like to say they're against an income tax but in fact they're in favor of an income tax," Kelsey complained after the sudden disappearance of his resolution. It has 40 Republican co-sponsors, some of whom sit on the subcommittee. Of them, only Rep. Donna Rowland voted with Kelsey. The subcommittee didn't actually vote on the resolution, of course, not wishing to wind up on the record on this particular issue. Instead, its leaders craftily attached a $20,000 fiscal note by requiring newspaper publication notice to voters if the question ever makes it onto the ballot. Then the panel voted to delay considering the resolution until after the state budget, meaning it'll most likely be quietly killed. Once the budget is adopted, the legislature's spent all the money there is to spend. So even coming up with another $20,000 for Kelsey will be impossible. Kelsey offered to raise private funds to pay for the legal notice but no one was listening "Of course, this will never come out from behind the budget," he told reporters. "They just showed exactly how they feel about this resolution. They're for an income tax. It's extremely frustrating that they won't even allow us to go out and raise these funds privately so that we can put this matter to rest."

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Is this clown for real? Just because you won't amend the constitution to outlaw something doesn't mean you are for it.

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Posted by Taterman on April 1, 2009 at 12:10 PM

What is up with this guy? Does he seriously think we should amend the State Constitution to never ever allow for a State income tax? What if 50 years from now a State income tax is the only answer to the budgetary needs of the State? I wish these people would get a life and do their job instead of all this posturing and mud slinging.

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Posted by foxeyes on April 1, 2009 at 2:23 PM

I hope Rep. Kelsey continues his work to expose the liberal Democrats and the occasional Republican charlatan that worked to kill his amendment.
You would think that with a majority in both chambers we Republicans could at least allow the voters to decide if they want a state income tax.
But instead the power-hungry statists must leverage their dwindling powers as the minority trying to preserve the future of a Tennessee state income tax.
There is no excuse for Republicans sitting on the committee to help bury this resolution. Do they have some secret Kent-Williams-type pact with the enemy too?

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Posted by motorcycleboy on April 3, 2009 at 11:33 AM

They probably have some secret pact with common sense and a desire to stop taking in other states' tax wealth to the tune of $1.27 for every $1 we send to the federal government. just a hunch.

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Posted by Christian on April 3, 2009 at 3:07 PM

I hope that most of the Republicans and some of the good Democrats will support Kelsey in his idea to clean up the place.
People are fed up with the corruption from East to West Tennessee.
Maybe Kelsey saw the state income tax coming faster than you think and he was just trying to stop it for good.
The same way he saw trouble coming during Kent Williams campaign and he was right.

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Posted by Tartine on April 4, 2009 at 9:47 AM
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