As part of a point-counterpoint series, Governing Magazine interviewed yours truly, getting my answers to the following questions: Should states cut taxes in a recession like this one? Can you cut spending and taxes in times like these? Given the states’ desperate need for revenue, why isn’t raising taxes a sound idea? Several states that have raised income taxes have targeted the highest brackets, passing so-called “millionaire taxes,” the idea being that it doesn’t effect spending the way a tax increase on lower income people would. What’s your take on the millionaire tax? Some states have begun to talk seriously about extending the sales tax to services. What’s your reaction to that? As parents get their kids ready to go back to school, many states – nearly a third of them – have sales tax holidays. How good an idea are those? In the tax-versus-spending continuum, how do you see things shaping up for states in the coming year? Check out my answers here.
