State Income Taxes Can Be A Burden

See The 'Anti-Christie': What Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy's tax hike plan tells us about liberal governance, WSJ, 4-30-11. Excerpts:

"For anyone who thinks income tax hikes are the financial salvation of states, Connecticut's history is instructive. Governor Lowell Weicker sold an income tax in 1991 as a one-time reform that would keep sales and property taxes low. Instead, a state that paid its bills for 200 years without an income tax and had become one of the richest states in per capita income is now raising income taxes for the fourth time in 20 years.

This is what always happens when a state introduces an income tax: A gusher of new revenue leads to higher spending, which leads the politicians to demand higher rates; rinse the taxpayers and repeat."

"What started in Connecticut as a 4.5% top marginal rate is now 6.5%, and yet the state is still running a $3.5 billion deficit. As the nearby table shows, state spending growth has far exceeded gains in median income since the income tax was introduced. Spending growth also roughly doubled the increase in population plus inflation (about 72%) over the period."