Anti-Tax Brushfire
On Tuesday, Oregon’s voters did what their compatriots in several other states have recently done: they shot down a tax hike. It is the latest blast fired in a tax revolt that is sweeping the nation. It is not a tea-in-the-harbor type of revolt, but one that is quietly stirring in ballot boxes across the country. Leading the charge are concerned taxpayers no one in Washington, DC has ever heard of, but those in the halls of power would do well to head the message these citizen-leaders repeatedly send: Americans do not want to pay higher taxes.
Oregon’s state legislature hoisted a $1.1 billion tax on the working people of the state last September, less than nine months after voters turned down a smaller tax hike. Led by Russ Walker of Keizer, Oregon, a citizens group leaped political hurdles and collected nearly 150,000 signatures to put a measure on the ballot to repeal the tax hike. Voters, by a 19 point margin, sided with Walker and his Oregon Citizens for a Sound Economy in saying no to higher taxes.
This blow to would-be tax hikers followed on the heals of a vote in Alabama last September where Governor Bob Riley tried to raise taxes by $1.2 billion. Proponents said the tax dollars were necessary to improve schools and services, and to close a $600 million deficit. Voters did not buy this old line and the effort went down in flames, with 68 percent coming out against raising taxes and just 32 percent supporting it.
Last June, citizen-activists in Washington State would not let up until their lawmakers handed their Governor a budget plan that cut wasteful and extravagant spending, instead of raising taxes, to reduce their projected $2.6 billion deficit.
Similar battles are being waged, and won, at all levels of government. In Broward County, Florida concerned taxpayers mobilized voters in opposition to a proposed $1.3 billion tax increase. At the town level, leaders in Bedford, New Hampshire used an active email and website campaign, yard signs, letters to the editor, door-to-door literature, live talk radio appearances, direct mail and telephone calls in an initiative that stopped a $44 million tax increase.
These grassroots leaders have swelled the number of anti-tax groups to over 400 in recent years. Groups like Tennessee Tax Revolt successfully set up shop and preventing an income tax in the state. Idahoans for Tax Reform promoted a citizen-initiated tax cut, and continue to fight for lower taxes. Taxpayers in Ohio have formed Citizens for Tax Repeal and are in the middle of a fight against the largest tax hike in Ohio’s history.
Under pressure from activists like Cameron Sholty of Wisconsin Citizens for a Sound Economy, a growing number of states, including Wisconsin, Tennessee, Idaho, New Hampshire, Kansas, and Minnesota, are discussing a Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, which would require taxpayer approval of tax increases.
Perceptive politicians in many states are starting to notice that these taxpayer groups speak for many voters. These voters not only shoot down tax hikes, but also the careers of the very politicians who try to enact such measures. The recent gubernatorial election in California saw Gray Davis, who tripled the car tax, lose his seat to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who promised not to raise taxes. In the presidential race, John Kerry and John Edwards have seen their fortunes improve as they have supported middle class tax relief, while Howard Dean and Richard Gephardt have found their tax hike message a loser. Kerry has risen in the polls in conjuncture with his airing of commercials faulting other candidates for not supporting middle-class tax cuts.
The confidence and clout of the anti-tax movement is growing with each successive, successful campaign. Dissatisfied voters, backed by the power of their growing numbers, and lead by citizen-activists, now feel like they can make a difference. They can, and they have. Those seeking office in 2004 would do well to take note.
