The Supreme Court sent Toledo taxpayers home with their tails between their legs yesterday. In a 9-0 ruling, SCOTUS ruled that Ohio taxpayers cannot block tax incentives given by the state to lure businesses. The group filed the case on grounds that corporate tax incentives increase the individual tax burden.
I'm not a legal expert, but the ruling makes sense to me since tax policy falls under the dominion of the legislature and as I mentioned in this post, the different branches of government should not be sticking their noses into each others business.
Voters control the legislature. If voters want different results then they should address their concerns to the legislature, not file suit. I wonder how much money this suit cost, and what would have happened if that money was spent on a media campaign to make Ohioans more aware of corporate tax favoritism instead.
Instead, the public will continue to uncritically reflect the perspective of corporate America, such as is revealed in DaimlerChrysler's comment that this was a "big win for America."
Translation: Corporations are America. When corporations win, America wins. When corporations lose, America loses.
But there's more... Daimler's senior VP for external affairs, the most assuredly patriotic Frank Fountain, equated frustrated taxpayers with terrorists: "[This verdict] sends a clear message that states will not be held hostage to lawsuits brought by individuals or groups with no direct connection to the issue at hand."
Translation: Corporate tax breaks are patriotic. Opposing corporate tax breaks is terrorism.
1 comment:
What do they do when the legislature doesn't care about their concerns because their funded by the corporations?
Filing a law suit creates a media campaign. Their just out funded.
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