I was talking about the California Blue Ribbon Commission and the taxation of cannabis with an elected official in North Carolina, one who spends a lot of time saying the same thing over and over. (A lot of this time involves battling the other side of the political spectrum.) This official expressed some envy about tackling something new — about questions we don’t have answers for.
It would be very useful to index the taxes on alcohol and fuels (gasoline, jet fuel) for inflation. To me, that’s an obvious reform. But if I were to take up that reform as an issue, I would have to say the same thing over and over again: Index these taxes. Even though I make plenty of mistakes, it’s more fun to work on unplowed ground.
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The Center for New Revenue 