Is repealing the 20th century such a bad idea?

Income tax revolt is slowing making its way to the ballot in Massachusetts, and it’s picking up a few enemies along the way. According to a letter in the Boston Globe: “So when Libertarian leader Carla Howell launched a new effort to junk the income tax earlier this year, the powers that be made it clear that this time they would do everything they could to discredit it.” An opponent of the prior attempt to repeal the tax (Howell tried to repeal the tax in 2002) is none other than Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. As the letter notes, “(T)he Taxpayers Foundation is a business lobby that often opposes broad-based tax relief.” This quote from Widmer regarding the prior attempt clearly defines the issue: “Essentially (Howell’s) trying to repeal the 20th century.” Repeal the 20th century? Hmm. So, what’s the problem here? note: Here in Ohio, the income tax is only 35 years old, while a number of states have no income tax at all.