Those pesky loopholes
After being called a ‘left-wing whacko’ and being accused of wanting to tax corporations at 50% (how ludicrous! – I came back to cross this out in the interest of civility), I’ve been reading up on corporate tax loopholes. There are a lot of differences of opinion (and the debate is not always pretty as I’ve been finding out). The taxes-are-evil camp are predicting the mass exodus from Massachusetts of corporations (along with the mass exodus of citizens of which I am still not convinced). One argument that I’ve heard a few times is that corporations do not decide their locations based on tax burden as much as on other factors, such as affordable housing, transportation, educated workforce and lack of red tape (Deval Patrick’s idea of streamlining the permitting process addresses this).
Others make the point that any tax to corporations is essentially passed on to individuals. That may be true in it’s most basic sense; however, our tax system is so convoluted that I defy anyone to make that direct of a connection. It still seems to me that closing a loophole is not the same as raising taxes, it’s making sure that the tax is applied fairly. If huge corporations with highly-paid legal departments are able to play by their own rules, while benefiting from the services and employees of the area they are located in, it makes it harder for other businesses and individual taxpayers to stay afloat.
One point that I agree with is to make sure resources are spent wisely. In Lowell, I think we’re benefitting from a new transparency at city hall. Let’s have less playing to ingrained interests, whether coporate or otherwise, and more straightfoward budgeting, taxing and governing – at every level.