Ed Wood "The Right Stuff" Published Feb. 20, 2002

The money trail

This time last year, all the talk was on an income tax. When? How much? Who would pay? In spite of the news media and a few vocal politicians, the thing most legislators learned during the off-season was that for one reason or another, or even for no reason at all, most of their constituents are solidly against an income tax.

With the current crop of legislators still being unwilling to consider spending cuts, most state House discussion these days deals with "reforming" the state sales tax -- either expanding the tax base to cover additional items, or raising the rate on existing items, or both. Frankly, I never paid much attention to what was and what wasn't being taxed. If it came up on the sales ticket, I paid it. Did I have a choice?
But I was somewhat surprised, if not shocked, to see a list of items compiled by state Sen. Jeff Miller (R-9th District) on which we pay no state sales taxes at all.

For instance: Administration and support services; collection agencies and credit bureaus; employment services; investigation and security services; mail, copy and call centers; services to buildings; construction services; educational services; finance, insurance and real estate; health and social services hospitals; nursing, residential social and other; physicians, dentists and others; information services; movie production and sound recording; cable TV subscriptions (exempt amount).

And, newspaper subscriptions and sales; media advertising sales; landscape and nursery products; personal services; coin-operated laundry; diet and weight-loss products and services; death care services; hair, nail and skin services; non-profit amusement and other; professional and technical services; advertising and public relations; accounting, tax return preparation and payroll; architectural, engineering and related; computer systems design and related.

Also, legal services; management, scientific and technical consulting; scientific research and development; transportation services; energy providers; industrial sector (1.5 percent rate); direct manufacturing processing (exempt); residential sector (exempt); gasoline and diesel fuel; government contracts (excluding federal); industrial and farm machinery; and various other individual products.

Why are these items exempt? Where is the logic? Can it be that they are so essential to human survival, that they should not be penalized? Not likely. I doubt that hair, skin and nail services, or movie production, or newspaper subscription and sales, are considered among life's essentials. So if there's no logic to the list, then what is it?

I rather expect it's the same old story of who hires the best lobbyists, provides the most campaign dollars, and offers the most lavish legislative entertainment. And if you want to anticipate what items will continue to be tax exempt, just watch the money trail as the current legislative session progresses.

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Ed Wood is a resident of Sparta, TN. His column is published each Wednesday in the Crossville Chronicle.