Say Anything Blog

This is the silliest thing I’ve ever head.

Bismarck, N.D. (AP) North Dakota Democrats are laying out their proposed agenda for the next Legislature.

They say they’ll be pushing budget increases for local schools and colleges. And they want to give a larger share of North Dakota’s state sales tax to cities and counties.

House Democratic leader Merle Boucher (boo-SHAY’ says the budget moves will help ease pressure on local property taxes. Local schools rely on property taxes for a big chunk of their budgets.

And Boucher says if North Dakota’s university system gets a big budget increase he expects the Board of Higher Education will stop raising tuition for at least two years.

The Legislature is holding its organizational session in Bismarck this week. It ends tomorrow after Governor Hoeven delivers his budget recommendations.

So, basically, what ND Democrats want to do is use some of North Dakota’s massive budget surplus on local government issues because supposedly this will prompt local governments, cities and counties, to lower the taxes they’ve levied on citizens.

There are two problems with this line of thinking.

First, what guarantee do North Dakota’s citizens have when it comes to local government politicians cutting taxes because of this new funding from the state level?  The state legislature has no control over local taxes.  If the legislators give the local governments this money the local governments could simply accept it...and then keep their property and sales taxes right where they’re at.  North Dakota citizens would be stuck paying their high local taxes while seeing more of the surplus of tax dollars they’ve paid into the state level go down the drain.

Second, is this payment to local government going to be an on-going thing?  I should think it would have to be, given that schools and such things need to be funded every year.  If the point of this spending is to “buy down” local taxes then the state is going to have to commit itself to this spending every single year.  Is that a commitment we want to make given that current elevated levels of tax revenue in North Dakota are primarily being caused by the resurgent oil industry in western North Dakota?  A resurgence that could end in a few years and leave ND an increased spending commitment (if the Dems get their way) and a reduced tax revenue stream?

This plan by the Democrats is just plain irresponsible.  Rather than an attempt to bring North Dakotans relief from local taxes I think it’s a thinly-veiled attempt by a bunch of big-government liberals to keep more of our tax dollars in government rather than giving it back to the people.

The only truly responsible thing to do with this tax surplus would be to give it back to North Dakotans in a rebate, and then couple that rebate with a tax cut.  Maybe even the abolishment of ND’s income tax system (which is something I think our legislators should be discussing seriously).