A Tax by Any Other Name...

Don’t tax you, don’t tax me. Tax that feller behind the tree.

Or better yet, don’t call it a tax at all: Call it a fine, forfeiture, fee. Really, any word except “tax” will do.

Such is the unifying philosophy behind many recent inflammatory fiscal developments on the national stage — Obamacare included — and within our state and local governments.

Jonathan Gruber has been vilified for (among other things) noting the “tortured” way that sections of the Affordable Care Act were written in order to stay in the good graces of both the Congressional Budget Office and the public. But such budgetary gamesmanship has long been an open, and bipartisan, tactic in Washington. When “spending” became a dirty word, Congress phased out earmarks. In their place, it doled out treats to special interests through the tax code, now awarding more than a trillion dollars each year in federal tax breaks, carve-outs and loopholes. Arithmetically, letting someone pay less in taxes is identical to spending money on them, but voters don’t see things that way.

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