Oxendine wants to get rid of State income tax

Fox 5 has interviewed all the the Republican candidates for governor, and they can all be found at this link.

Statements made during the interview by state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine on state taxes most assuredly will come back to bite him in the rear as the campaign kicks into full swing.

Perhaps ignoring the exit of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle from the race from governor and wanting to one-up Cagel, Oxendine called for eliminating not just the corporate income tax, but all income taxes.

Cagel, you recall, during this past legislative session sought to end Georgia's corporate income tax, which in better times has helped fill the state's coffers with more than $700 million each year. Cagel said wiping out this tax would help Georgia stay competitive with neighboring states.

This position was the subject of a 2-22-09 post entitled "This is irresponsible. Ga. governments -- the state, counties, cities & school districts -- needs more revenue, not less. - Corporate tax breaks urged," that provided in part:

At this particular time this attempt is irresponsible. The State of Georgia, cities, counties and school districts need more tax revenues, not less.

I have been the attorney for the Douglas-Coffee County Economic Development Authority for years, and our success in recruiting industry is the envy of many Georgia cities and counties. Never has our corporate income tax, to my knowledge, even been brought up as a problem or consideration by any company we have recruited.

In the Fox 5 interview Oxendine calls for a complete rewriting of Georgia's tax code and the elimination of the state income tax.

"There are many other ways. A lot can be done. Obviously the sales tax, we need to look at what should be exempt from the sales tax and what should not be," said Oxendine.

While I agree that what should be exempt from sales tax should be examined, is the complete elimination of the state income tax really the issue Oxendine wants to run on. Has he really thought this through? (The topic of what should be exempt from sales tax that did not get the reception it deserved this past legislative session in a bill introduced by my friend Rep. Chuck Sims, but I predict it will in time.)

In the Other Georgia many dread receiving their property tax bill more paying income taxes. But look what happened to House Speaker Glenn Richardson's plan for swapping property taxes for an enhanced state sales tax. Counties, cities and school districts joined forces to oppose it, and it crashed and burned despite a carefully orchestrated statewide series of public hearings designed to promote the concept.

And, as noted in a 7-19-08 post entitled "The Speaker's plan for swapping property taxes for an enhanced state sales tax might have been a fiscal disaster this year if it had been in place":

James Salzer writes in the AJC's Political Insider:

The original plan proposed by House Speaker Glenn Richardson last year - swapping property taxes for an enhanced state sales tax - might have been a fiscal disaster this year if it had been in place, according to critics of the plan.

Sales tax collections were down 8.6 percent during the final quarter of fiscal 2008 compared with the same period in 2007. Sales taxes are currently the second most important source of revenue for the state, just below income taxes. With the economy slowing, sales have fallen faster than income.

That is exactly the scenario that critics of Richardson’s plan warned of.

My take that is old news: Oxendine is an overachiever having become Georgia's Insurance Commissioner. Remember 2005 when Oxendine bowed out of the race for lieutenant governor following (in my opinion at least) confirmation by Ralph Reed that he was running.

Regardless of who is running, and while the ranks are admittedly thin at the present, Oxendine should reconsider giving up his present office. Regardless, I feel most confident in predicting I will never address him as Governor Oxendine.