Tax Justice Digest stories about North Dakota

"Americans for Prosperity", a national anti-tax organization, has been gathering signatures for an initiative petition that would, if passed, cut the state income tax by 50 percent and the state corporate tax by 15 percent. The group is aiming to put the measure before the people on the November 2008 ballot.  This week former North Dakota Lt. Governor Lloyd Omdahl published an editorial criticizing the initiative. Mr. Omdahl noted that North Dakota is already a low-tax state, ranking 37^th nationally. More importantly he also pointed out that North Dakota has real education needs and cutting taxes certainly won't provide students with the resources they need to learn.  Mr. Omdahl's editorial is commendable for pointing out so succinctly the folly of what he terms a meat axe approach to tax reform. 

Rural representatives in North Dakota's legislature have started a revolt against local option sales taxes used by some localities to help fund local education.  State Rep. Mike Brandenburg argues that the lack of stores in more rural communities forces residents to shop in towns in more affluent districts, increasing the inequality between rich and poor districts.  However, his proposed solution, House Bill 1314, may well create more problems than it solves.  The bill would require stores to keep track of the home district of any shopper who spends more than $5, so the sales tax revenue can be directed to the shopper's home county.  This system would create a huge administrative burden for both businesses and local governments.  For a better solution to the problem of funding inequality between counties, North Dakota should consider revenue-sharing programs like those in Minnesota and Vermont.