REASONS TO SUPPORT THE TAX LIMITATION AMENDMENT
(HJ Res 62)
1. Taxation is one of the most dangerous powers of government.
| That the power to tax involves the power to destroy...is not to be denied. Chief Justice John Marshall, 1819. |
| A government which lays taxes on the people not required by urgent public necessity and sound public policy is not a protector of liberty, but an instrument of tyranny. Calvin Coolidge, 1924. |
2. Taxes are too high and only increase with time.
| Government expands to absorb revenue and then some. Tom Wicker, 1968. |
| Families paid just 5% of income in federal taxes in 1934. In 1993, the amount was 17.8%. Today, the average family pays 20% of its annual income in federal taxes alone-- the highest since World War II. |
3. It's too easy to raise taxes with only a simple majority requirement.
| 4 of the last 5 major tax increases passed without a 2/3 vote: 1982/$214 billion; 1987/$40 billion; 1990/$137 billion; 1993/$275 billion = total $666 billion. |
4. Congress should follow the example set by 14 states that have adopted tax limitation.
| In states with tax limitation, taxes and spending have grown more slowly, economies and the job base have expanded more quickly. |
| Americans support tax limitation when given a choice: it has never lost in voter referenda. |
5. Tax increases will more closely reflect genuine need and the greater good.
| Special interest groups will be less able to successfully lobby for tax increases that benefit their narrow constituency at the expense of other Americans. |
6. Only a Constitutional Amendment (unlike a Parliamentary Point of Order) will make a 2/3 super-majority binding on Congress.
7. The Founding Fathers embraced the idea of 2/3 super-majority votes on important policies.
| In the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay argue that rule by a simple majority was tantamount to mob rule-- a danger partly abetted by including a Presidential veto power. |
| The Constitution already requires a 2/3 majority for treaty ratification and constitutional amendment ratification-- tax limitation is equally important. |
8. Let's at least keep up with the Europeans! 21 countries have super-majority requirements.
| Over 70% of Americans support a 2/3 super-majority in order to raise taxes. |
