Back-handed tax logic

A tax increase on certain, wealthy Hoosiers is proposed to fix the state economy. Those Democrats are at it again!\nWait. That wasn't from the Democrats. That was from our new Republican governor.\nI'm not generally one to criticize a Republican, but after watching Gov. Mitch Daniels' State of the State address, I feel compelled to speak out.\nMuch of the governor's speech was aimed at improving the state's financial situation, and many of the proposals made sense. Eliminating state waste, freezing levels of funding on most programs and other ideas are designed to control spending and sound reasonable.\nThere was one proposal, however, that did not. The governor said, "I ask the most fortunate among us, those citizens earning over $100,000 per year, for one year, to pay an additional one percent on the income they receive."\nAccording to a Jan. 19 report on WTHR, the governor wants to raise the current 3.4 percent flat tax rate to 4.4 percent for individuals or couples filing jointly, who make more than $100,000 per year. The report further stated the governor's belief that this would raise almost $290 million in revenue, allowing for more shallow spending cuts and a rebuilding of the state's savings. These are laudable goals, but the governor is going about them in the wrong way.\nThe General Assembly is not offering much hope. Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton of Columbus offered little in the way of opposition to this tax. All he could manage to say when asked about his position was that at least it's a temporary tax.\nIf these men are Republicans, I am ashamed to call myself one. Daniels hasn't even been in office a month, and already he has adopted one of the Democrats' core ideas: punish success. The governor wants to make successful individuals pay more because of poor fiscal management by the state. I'll grant you that Daniels inherited a bad situation, but this tax proposal would make things even worse by driving business and wealthy individuals to other states.\nOne of my biggest fears is that this tax could become permanent. In a Jan. 23 analysis of the governor's agenda, the Indianapolis Star reported that many states had tried similar solutions to ride out the 2001 recession, but had never returned tax rates to their original levels. For example, Ohio's 6 percent sales tax expires in June but could be renewed. North Carolina has already extended its "temporary" income tax increase.\nFor all levels of government, taxes are like a highly pure form of heroin. They get one hit and are addicted indefinitely. If a one percent tax increase is going to raise $290 million in one year alone, why would the state give it up? I can almost see the governor and the General Assembly salivating at the idea of an extra $290 million a year.\nWhat kind of place would Indiana turn into with a tax like this? We would become known as a state that does not reward hard work and success. We would become known as a state that forces its best and brightest to shoulder the burden. We would become known as a hypocritical state that encourages hard work and achievement with one hand, then punishes it with the other.\nThe governor's biggest challenge is to make Indiana a place where people want to live. This state will likely never have the glamorous appeal of states like New York, California and Florida, but Indiana has the potential to attract businesses and workers from all over the country.\nHowever, what would be the point of working hard and achieving here if the state will pick your pocket every time it feels like it?