Every loophole, deduction, exemption, ad infinitum that provides a tax break or other favor for one special interest redistributes the resulting loss of income or cost from that favored source as a tax increase to everyone else. If every tax increase required at least a two-thirds vote to pass, special-interest legislation would become much more difficult to pass, and the cost of government would be spread more widely.
But everyone is special and has special interests, so our shipyard load of tax code will be protected. To appreciate how special and protected you are, complete your federal taxes personally and manually. To appreciate how special others are, read all the law that doesn’t apply to you.
We are a very special people.
Merv Murphy
Vancouver
