Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Tax Everyone for the Foibles of the Few

Today's thoughts are about Colorado public policy "101"...

Every year, there are a few bad ideas which gain traction at our state legislature. One of the hot ones this year is the marriage tax proposal.

Democratic senator Jon Morse from Colorado Springs has proposed a $25 surcharge on Colorado marriage licenses (current fee is $10) to fund the court appointed child advocate program, known as CASA.

While we believe in the mission of CASA and its advocacy in child abuse cases, taxing couples who are getting a license to marry is bad policy. Colorado lawmakers should be doing whatever it takes to encourage couples to marry, not pass laws that de-incentivize marriage. Colorado already has one of the lowest marriage rates in the nation.

There are other ways to fund CASA. Taxing everyone for the foibles of a few is wrong-headed.

For more information on SB 47, visit this link.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

YOur point of view misses a key fact: most child abuse comes from married families. They should be taxed and carry this cost....

Anonymous said...

This previous misses the mark. Marriage is the antidote for child abuse. Wake up. Most child abuse cases are perpetrated by a boyfriend (non-biological male) of the child's mother...

That is fact...