Jane Egan - May 10, 2007
Montana Society of Certified Public Accountants
Tax Policy
I am Jane Egan, the Executive Director of the Montana Society of Certified Public Accountants. While I’m officially speaking on behalf of my members: CPAs, I know that over 35 other Montana employers and business associations strongly agree with what I have to say.
If you’ve been following the legislature since January, you’ve probably heard a lot of talk about “tax cheaters.” During the special session that starts this week, the legislature will again be debating this issue. I’m here to tell you that while we strongly support an aggressive effort to go after tax cheaters, with this legislation the devil is in the details.
Nowhere in the legislation does it single out out-of-state corporations or non-resident property owners. Nowhere does it say “Montana residents are exempt.” This will have a negative effect on every Montana taxpayer.
They say this is about tax cheaters, but that’s only true if by “tax cheater” you include all Montanans who pay income taxes
The bottom line is that this affects every Montanan.
The slick, spin-doctored catch-phrase is “tax cheater,” but the reality is that these proposals create the most-powerful state tax agency in the country – with even more authority than the IRS.
At a time of record revenue surpluses, we should be looking for ways to simplify our tax code; not make it more complicated. We already have some of the most convoluted tax regulations in the country – and if these tax laws go into effect, there will be more mistakes by more Montanans
They’ve created a smoke screen with the “tax cheater” catch phrase. What they don’t want you to know is that they’re really after a 53% increase in the Department of Revenue budget; 90 new employees and numerous new sections of tax law and changes to the tax code.
This would grant monumental power to the Department of Revenue. They’re trying to create tax policy that has never been attempted in any other state. In other words, it’s test-tube tax policy and you’re the guinea pig.
This will mean more audits covering more aspects of your tax information. We strongly agree that people who shirk their taxes should be sought after with every effort possible – but the so-called “tax cheater” legislation in Helena goes far beyond tracking down tax cheaters. The real losers are the honest Montana taxpayers who could have their lives turned upside down by an overzealous state tax collection agency.
While individual taxpayers will find themselves unduly burdened by this new legislation, it’s much worse for businesses. Thirty-five major employer and business associations oppose this legislation. These are not out-of-state businesses – these are the associations that represent Montana businesses. They’re opposed because they recognize the detrimental effects the legislation will have on wages, on job growth, and new investment in the economy.
Our top priority should be encouraging businesses to grow in Montana; not hindering them with new tax burdens. We should also be making it easier for Montana families to save, invest, and plan for the future – not placing new tax stumbling-blocks in their way.
Unfortunately, this whole issue has been obscured by the simplistic “tax cheater” sound byte from the bureaucrats in Helena. The real issues have been overlooked.
Again, we emphasis we support going after tax cheaters; but the fact remains that the Department of Revenue already has the tools necessary to do that. They don’t need this legislation to do their job. What this is really about is securing more power in the hands of the Department of Revenue.
By doing that, they’re upsetting the balance between the tax payer and the tax collector. As a taxpayer myself, that’s not an attractive proposal.
This is about tax fairness. Our tax policy should follow the concept that you’re innocent until proven guilty. Under the framework they’re trying to impose, honest taxpayers would be assumed guilty and forced to prove their innocence.
Don’t give them this monumental new power. Let your legislators in Helena know that you don’t support this legislation. Urge them to adopt common-sense tax policy that places fairness and honesty above the deception that has been used to promote this tax plan.
Again, I’m Jane Egan and I work with hundreds of Certified Public Accountants in Montana. It’s my members’ job to help Montana taxpayers navigate the very difficult tax code and to help protect them from making mistakes. But I can’t emphasize enough just how big a mistake it would be to enact this legislation.
|
|
