There’s poachers in them thar woods
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 By Mike Maurer
The Plain Dealer isn’t happy with Randall Westfall, mayor of Valley View: “Business poachers are abroad in Valley View”
Westfall is pushing an income tax break for an incoming business. In large terms, favorites-only income tax breaks are dumb policy, but that isn’t actually what upsets the PD. If it were, there would be all sorts of condemnation of Third Frontier and countless examples of the state and local governments stepping up and giving favored treatment to one private entity or another.
No, what upsets the paper is that the mayor isn’t playing fair with other tax collecting districts. It’s the same argument that, say, Hilliard and Columbus continually have with each other when one “poaches” a business located in the other by offering a better deal.
The losers don’t like this game, although they’re happy to play it when they’re the winners. To prevent it, there is much talk of “regionalism.” What that really means is monopoly control; these entities want to discourage, if not make downright illegal, tax competition.
That ought to scare everyone. What would keep taxes down if government entities can collude to fix minimum taxes? Answer: Nothing. We ought to be looking at restraint of trade laws and expanding them to cover taxing jurisdictions, too.
Tags: regionalism, tax policy
