New York State Capitol in Albany
(lavendertime/Getty Images) For the past decade, state leaders have taken taxpayers and their businesses for granted and now, thousands are leaving.
Even when the COVID-19 pandemic becomes a distant memory, Americans will still be paying for the record-breaking government debt incurred by government overspending the vast majority of which unfortunately had little or nothing to do with pandemic-induced health-care needs. After all, while the pandemic negatively affected every American in some way, it was thankfully not an existential threat to the free world and it did not require World War II levels of national debt to keep Americans on their feet. Yet New Yorkers, more so than any others in the country, are on the verge of feeling the true weight and cost of the pandemic.
American Legislative Exchange Council
Our entire policy department at ALEC is busy analyzing the best free market ideas to add to the important discussions taking place across the states and at the federal level In Washington. Throughout our nearly 50-year history, ALEC has always been at the forefront of producing and exchanging ideas and will continue to provide principled solutions that benefit all Americans.
We look forward to hearing from you as we continue to build our free market collection of policy ideas from the 50 “laboratories of democracy.” Please let us know whenever ALEC can be helpful to you.
Jonathan Williams
Chairman Marquart, Vice Chair Lislegard, Republican Lead Davids and members of the House Taxes Committee, my name is Alan Smith, and I am a senior fellow and Midwest director at the R Street Institute, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy research organization. Our mission is to engage in policy research and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government in many areas.
One particular increase in taxes proposed by HF 991 really caught our attention because of our portfolio on tobacco harm reduction. We have been encouraged that the studies overwhelmingly indicate that vaping could be the most effective solution for many persons trying to quit smoking. From our reading of this legislation, the gross receipts tax of 35 percent would be added to the 95 percent OTP tax currently applied to vapor products. To tax a legal product at 130 percent would not clear any definition of acceptable tax policy and there is a strong argument that the underlying health a