Sensible Tax and Fiscal Systems (“STAFS”) is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving the structure and operation of the United States federal tax system and state and local tax and fiscal systems, with special emphasis on the Minnesota tax and fiscal system and the federal tax system, because the federal tax system and Minnesota’s tax and fiscal systems are in the worst shape in decades.
The most visible evidence of federal tax system failure includes a ballooning federal budget deficit, looming crises in Medicare and Social Security funding, and a complete lack of political will to talk about, much less enact, solutions.
Minnesota has had one budget crisis after another since 2002. Its continuing fiscal crisis comes from an underlying structural imbalance between revenues and spending, that is projected to grow far worse in coming years. The Minnesota budget crisis has been exacerbated by the global recession induced by the financial system meltdown, but runs deeper than that and will not be eliminated by economic recovery. Other states face similar problems.
The fiscal crisis is accompanied by an environmental crisis – global warming or climate change. Tax systems historically have not taken into account the desirability of conserving natural capital. With the environmental crisis, tax systems should encourage conservation of natural capital. STAFS will attempt to build options for such conservation into options for improving the performance of tax and fiscal systems.
The visible evidence of budgetary crisis, fiscal crisis, runaway deficits or whatever term one prefers is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The federal and Minnesota tax systems, and the broader Minnesota state-local fiscal system, are shot through with problems that could be solved with major reforms of the type that clearly will be required to address the visible signs of crisis.
STAFS will pursue improved tax and fiscal functioning through dedication to a single proposition – the Sensible Proposition: Tax and fiscal systems should be fair, reliable, understandable, efficient, eco-friendly, and competitive, in structure and in operation.
Dedication to the Sensible Proposition means that STAFS will design, look for and make available ways to improve existing tax and fiscal systems in the important respects of structural and operational fairness, reliability, understandability, efficiency, eco- friendliness, and competitiveness. STAFS will also include potential reforms in aspects of governmental functioning with significant budgetary impact, and therefore significant impact on tax and fiscal systems.
STAFS is nonprofit and nonpartisan. The Sensible Proposition is neither liberal nor conservative, Democratic nor Republican. STAFS will attempt to create pathways to consensus on improving the structure and operation of tax and fiscal systems.
STAFS will concentrate first on the Minnesota state-local fiscal system and state-local government relationships. Future efforts may include federal and multistate design ideas, and design efforts aimed specifically at other states.
Tax and fiscal systems may seem complicated, and they are. Reforming them may seem difficult, and it is. But reform is possible, and one element of reform could be substantial simplification to make systems much more understandable, and much more fair as well. As President Ronald Reagan said about the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the last major federal tax reform, first, they said, it’s impossible, don’t even think about it. Then they said, it would be good, but it’ll never pass. Now they say, it’s a great idea; I’m glad I thought of it.
Minnesota has had one budget crisis after another since 2002. Its continuing fiscal crisis comes from an underlying structural imbalance between revenues and spending, that is projected to grow far worse in coming years. The Minnesota budget crisis has been exacerbated by the global recession induced by the financial system meltdown, but runs deeper than that and will not be eliminated by economic recovery. Other states face similar problems.
The fiscal crisis is accompanied by an environmental crisis – global warming or climate change. Tax systems historically have not taken into account the desirability of conserving natural capital. With the environmental crisis, tax systems should encourage conservation of natural capital. STAFS will attempt to build options for such conservation into options for improving the performance of tax and fiscal systems.
The visible evidence of budgetary crisis, fiscal crisis, runaway deficits or whatever term one prefers is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. The federal and Minnesota tax systems, and the broader Minnesota state-local fiscal system, are shot through with problems that could be solved with major reforms of the type that clearly will be required to address the visible signs of crisis.
STAFS will pursue improved tax and fiscal functioning through dedication to a single proposition – the Sensible Proposition: Tax and fiscal systems should be fair, reliable, understandable, efficient, eco-friendly, and competitive, in structure and in operation.
Dedication to the Sensible Proposition means that STAFS will design, look for and make available ways to improve existing tax and fiscal systems in the important respects of structural and operational fairness, reliability, understandability, efficiency, eco- friendliness, and competitiveness. STAFS will also include potential reforms in aspects of governmental functioning with significant budgetary impact, and therefore significant impact on tax and fiscal systems.
STAFS is nonprofit and nonpartisan. The Sensible Proposition is neither liberal nor conservative, Democratic nor Republican. STAFS will attempt to create pathways to consensus on improving the structure and operation of tax and fiscal systems.
STAFS will concentrate first on the Minnesota state-local fiscal system and state-local government relationships. Future efforts may include federal and multistate design ideas, and design efforts aimed specifically at other states.
Tax and fiscal systems may seem complicated, and they are. Reforming them may seem difficult, and it is. But reform is possible, and one element of reform could be substantial simplification to make systems much more understandable, and much more fair as well. As President Ronald Reagan said about the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the last major federal tax reform, first, they said, it’s impossible, don’t even think about it. Then they said, it would be good, but it’ll never pass. Now they say, it’s a great idea; I’m glad I thought of it.
