NYSTU - Guiding Principles

1. Taxes must be transparent, simple and broad based. A good tax system requires informed taxpayers who understand how taxes are assessed, collected and complied with. It should be clear to taxpayers who and what is being taxed, and how tax burdens affect them and the economy. The tax system should be as simple as possible, and should minimize gratuitous complexity. The cost of tax compliance is a real cost to society, and complex taxes create perverse incentives to shelter and disguise legitimately earned income. Moreover, taxes should be broadly based, allowing tax rates to be as low as possible at all points.
   
   
2. Taxes must not interfere with a free-market economy. The fundamental purpose of taxes is to raise necessary revenue for programs, not micromanage a complex market economy with subsidies and penalties. The tax system's central aim should be to minimize distortions in the economy, and to interfere as little as possible with the decisions of free people in the marketplace.
   
   
3. Taxes should be stable. Tax law should not change continuously, and tax changes should be permanent and not temporary. Instability in the tax system makes long-term planning difficult, and increases uncertainty in the economy. Moreover, changes in tax law should never be retroactive. As a matter of fairness, taxpayers should rely with confidence on the law as it exists when contracts are signed and transactions are made.
   
   
4. Tax burdens should be kept low. It makes a difference how large a share of income is taken by government in taxes. The private sector is the source of all wealth, and is what drives increases in the standard of living in a market-based economy. Taxes should consume as small a portion of income as possible, and should not interfere with economic growth and investment. Excessive taxation does more than infringe on people's financial freedom; it drives up spending, and creates a bigger, more intrusive government that inevitably infringes on other freedoms as well.
   
   
5. Taxes should be enacted in an open process with public debate. Tax legislation should be based on careful and credible economic analysis and transparent legislative procedures. Tax legislation should be subject to open hearings with a full opportunity for the public to comment on legislation and regulatory proposals. Moreover, any state tax increase should be subject to a Constitutional Amendment requiring a two-thirds supermajority vote. The act of raising taxes is a destructive act and should therefore be a difficult act. Requiring a two-thirds vote for any tax increase would protect millions of hardworking taxpayers from unnecessary and counterproductive tax hikes.
   
   
6. Taxes should be consistent. Local, state and federal tax systems should be harmonized to the extent possible with federal taxes, including consistent definitions, procedures and rules.