The University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business unveiled a new government-funded “tax calculator” last week to assist members of the S.C. General Assembly as they contemplate changes to the state’s tax code.
At a poorly attended event on the USC campus, the school’s higher educrats rolled out the so-called “South Carolina Tax Model” – an online calculator which enables users to track the revenue impact of various tax reductions/ increases/ eliminations.
A useful too, right?
Wrong …
While easy to use, USC’s tax calculator is utterly and completely useless because it fails to take into account the stimulative effect of tax relief – or for that matter the de-stimulative effect of tax increases. The calculator assumes modifications in tax policy occur in a vacuum and have no impact on the broader economy – which is like assuming a boulder thrown into a lake isn’t going to make a splash.
For example, FITS plugged in several income tax relief scenarios – and each time the calculator spit back a dollar-for-dollar reduction in government revenues. Meanwhile we plugged in several income tax increases – and each time the calculator spit back a dollar-for-dollar increase in government revenues.
Hmmmmm …
That may be how things work at the Darla Moore School of Business … but it’s not how things work in the real world.
Tax policy does not take place in a vacuum. And as we’ve pointed out ad nauseam, not all taxes are created equal.
Specifically, reducing or eliminating a state’s income tax has been proven effective at expanding population, attracting investment, raising income levels and … wait for it … growing a state’s revenue base. And while this website will never cite the creation of additional state revenue as a reason for making a policy change, the failure of this new “tool” to incorporate such basic economic realities in its calculations is inexcusable.
It’s also yet another reason why the Palmetto State’s mainstream media fall for this “tax cuts cost money” narrative hook, line and sinker every time a lawmaker proposes lowering our state’s tax burden.
Anyway, FITS reached out to USC’s communications office last week with questions about the calculator … but never heard back from them.
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8 comments
“That may be how things work at the Darla Moore School of Business … but it’s not how things work in the real world.”
lulz!
$25 million voluntarily thrown down a rat hole though isn’t as bad as taking everyone’s money and pissing it away via failed ventures-whether it be innovista or hydrogen, failed agencies-like the SCDOR or SCDEW or simply spreading it around to your buddies that run bullshit companies providing “services” to the gov’t machine after hiriing some of your corrupt buddies and ridiculous salary’s to mismanage the whole affair.
I’d be happy to listen to the arguments about what constitutes “core gov’t” if gov’t could even do something as basic as maintaining the fucking roads.
Until it can successfully do even the most basic of functions I’ll continue to suggest it go away entirely(even though it never will).
I just imagine the giant sigh of relief this state would have after mercilessly slaying Innovista, or how Columbia would appear if that godforsaken Benji and Friends YouTube video never saw the light of day. Forget the effects of raising/cutting taxes, how about the effect of cutting absolutely pointless ventures that accomplishes nothing more than punching ourselves in the face?
Adjusting the brackets to provide relief for a vast majority of SC citizens should definitely be considered, though. I have my doubts on how big of a ripple such a “boulder” would really cause, though, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it.
Yeah, I was excited that someone had finally ponied up to have a STAMP-like model designed for SC: http://www.beaconhill.org/STAMP_Web_Brochure/STAMP_EconofSTAMP.html
But instead it’s a “tool” that literally could have been designed by a couple of undergrad students for a computer science class project.
Hey Fits, when you make millions and millions, let us know how your business is doing. Those that can’t write blogs. ROFLMAO!
Simple:
1. Legalize drugs,prostitution and allow dog/horse racing tracks in Myrtle Beach and the old track in Darlington and tax ’em all….
2. Eliminate the SC tax code for one of the ones in Tennessee,Florida,Nevada, New Hampshire.
BTW: The Greenville news had an excellent article yesterday about the rise in going back to paper returns this year due to the DOR fuck-up
……. Damn! I got hit by a power surge that screwed up Fitsnews – can’t find articles as originally posted which now show up as —-
MARK SANFORD’S HOUSE OF CARDS
THE QUEEN IS PISSED… GET READY TO RUMBLE
CRUISE SHIP WAR: DARLA VS NIKKI 2
CANDACE BESSINGER WILL RUN FOR US SENATE
THAD VIERS GOT INDICTED… WAITING ON A VERDICT
HOLY HARPOOTLIAN EXPECTATIONS GAME
TIME TO ORGASM LADIES: TEXT MESSAGE GOLD MINE
So which bipartisan dynamic scoring model would you like to utilize? Don’t start with one from Laffer as that is pie-in-the-sky bullshit for the T-party crowd. As soon as you open up the dynamic scoring can of worms you have instantly opened up a conversation that will annoy 50% of the populace who disagree with the chosen scoring model.
Can you say”overrated” business school!