Which Path will Missouri Choose?

July 28, 2014 by

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Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 

The state of Missouri will have the opportunity to vote on a sales tax increase to specifically fund infrastructure. I do not know all of the in’s and out’s of Missouri budget and transportation policy, but many of the issues in Missouri and similar to those across the nation.

1. Gas Tax Revenue: 
The gas tax just hasn’t kept pace with the cost of infrastructure. Cars need less fuel, and therefore pay less tax on fuel, and this leads to less revenue to maintain those same roads and bridges. Do states need to raise gas taxes to account for more fuel efficient cars?

2. Alternative transportation:
 States have invested heavily in roads designed for cars and must invest heavily into maintenance of these roads.  Should states and localities look at new investments that may impose a high upfront cost but lower maintenance costs down the road?

3. Who Pays?
 Families struggling to get by pay a larger share of their income toward sales taxes than the wealthy pay. Will sales tax increases be the right way to fund infrastructure or should revenue from a higher gas tax be mixed with income tax revenues to finance these projects?

4. We need Roads
 A good road is the foundation of a strong economy. We need reliable bridges in our country, states, and local communities to keep people safe and allow commerce to flow freely.

The question is, which road will Missouri take next Tuesday?

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
                                                                                       – Robert Frost

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Are You Paying your Sales Tax?

July 18, 2014 by

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Screen Shot 2014-07-18 at 9.53.14 AMAre you paying your sales taxes?

Probably not, because most Ohioans don’t realize that we are required to submit Ohio Use Tax (see line 19) on items purchased online where the seller doesn’t collect. That means every time you buy a book, an i-phone case with a built-in cup holder, or an emergency mustache kit and sales tax is not collected – you are legally responsible to pay it when you file your state income tax returns.

And that makes sense….

because there is no difference between ordering a book on Amazon or walking down to the Book Loft and purchasing it off of their shelf – except the Book Loft collects sales taxes. (and they create jobs here in Ohio…) If we want Amazon to collect the sales tax owed on our order we need Congress to act.

Why is it this way?
 Simply put, Ohio can’t tax companies in other states. Congress has the authority to regulate commerce between the states. Therefore, we need Congress to resolve this issue with the Marketplace Fairness Act. It is the Constitutional thing to do.

As more people use Amazon to purchase their books, local and state governments are losing revenue they need. This will lead to cuts in public services OR an increase in other taxes – likely a combination of both. Sales tax is collected by the state, county, and other entities (like a regional transportation service). All of these levels of government will struggle to continue to provide great public services that we all use.

Anti-tax organizations are afraid this is an ‘expansion of state tax authority‘ but it isn’t really. It is an effort to make the collection and remission of taxes already owed more efficient and equal among the several states.  We can all get behind real efficiency, can’t we?

 

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