Tax Pledges are Stupid

The Clarion Ledger has an article out today highlighting Candidate Jamie Franks pledge to increase tobacco taxes and Candidates Charlie Ross and Phil Brant opposing such an increase. It point out why tax pledges are dumb due to a sometime unpredictable state revenue stream and changing conditions.

"State Rep. Jamie Franks has launched his bid for lieutenant governor by signing a pledge to support a $1 hike in the tobacco tax - which puts an odd spin on the contest.

Both Bryant and Ross quickly came out against hiking the tobacco tax - along the lines of Gov. Haley Barbour, a former tobacco lobbyist, who vetoed bills to hike the tax while reducing the sales tax on groceries last year and helped defeat it this year.

So now, ironically, you've got a Democrat saying he's for raising the tobacco tax and two Republicans aping the "old" Barbour's "I'm not for raising anybody's taxes," while the "new" Barbour (burned by his anti-tax swap stance) is acknowledging that any fair adjustment of taxes could require some to go up and some to go down."