Monday, January 2, 2006

Is it a tax incentive or a bribe?

Bribe: make payments in exchange for favors or influence.

When we provide tax incentives to certain companies to entice them to locate here in Rhode Island, are we being fair to other businesses in our state? I don't see much difference between those incentives and bribes. Don't they both try to influence behavior that otherwise would not take place?

Our entire tax system, federal, state, and to a lesser extent local, appears to be riddled with influence peddling.

Maybe it's just me.