SC: The South Budget 2016 (Statute)

[Anna Komnene]

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Sponsor: PiT

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I would like to thank Speaker Siren for bringing this to the Chamber floor. There are still a couple of recent bills that need to be added to this. I welcome any questions or comments on this budget.

[Anna Komnene]

A couple questions off the top of my head:

Would you be open to an income tax exemption for people making less than $15,000/year?

Just curious: is there an income cap in the social security tax or no?

[Associate Justice PiT]

     The amounts are based on the sums of tax revenue for the states comprising the South. As such, the answer to the social security tax question is a complicated one. Likewise, the effects of a low income tax exemption are also complicated, though one that a GM could give us a straight answer for. I would be fine with that, myself; the current budget calls for a 5% flat tax, which was Delegate dfw's suggestion.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

     The amounts are based on the sums of tax revenue for the states comprising the South. As such, the answer to the social security tax question is a complicated one. Likewise, the effects of a low income tax exemption are also complicated, though one that a GM could give us a straight answer for. I would be fine with that, myself; the current budget calls for a 5% flat tax, which was Delegate dfw's suggestion.

and Santander's

[Santander]

I decline to debate the budget or fund the government until we have a real discussion on open carry and 2nd Amendment rights.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

I decline to debate the budget or fund the government until we have a real discussion on open carry and 2nd Amendment rights.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     While I do support open carry, I would prefer that other bills not be held up for its sake. Particularly something as important as the budget.

[Deblano]

     While I do support open carry, I would prefer that other bills not be held up for its sake. Particularly something as important as the budget.

I agree with this.

Despite my pro-gun leanings, we cannot under any circumstances let our hospitals, transportation networks, and pensions for our most vulnerable citizens be left unfunded due to a passioned debate on gun rights.

[Leinad]

2nd Amendment rights.

Is someone trying to say Arizona isn't a state?

All kidding aside, I agree with PiT and Edgar. Just introduce it again, you can vote it through now.

[Deblano]

When will the budget be voted on?

[Deblano]

When will the budget be voted on?

Well, I guess it depends on when we think it's ready to be voted on.  It seems like nobody is really interested in debating it.  That's fine I guess.  I have a bit of a hard time figuring out what to say because it's a bit... vague even if the numbers look fairly solid.

That said, there's probably a few things we need to figure out.  Does it need a GM analysis, now that we have a new GM?  Are there any bills we need to add to it?  Off the top of my head, probably the lottery bill and the human trafficking bill.

The only thing I can think of on the top of my head about this bill is that I like how it keeps the corporate and income tax rates low without the budget being drastically short on funding. I oppose any significant increases on the corporate tax.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     It might be worth re-evaluating the region's base income tax percentage. It was 3.35% before, but that was in the old South with half as many states. It may be diferent now.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     It is complicated. We needed to estimate what the income tax rates of the region averaged out to, so we could know how any given rate (5.8% under the old regime) compared to the IRL numbers that we compiled. That average of all income taxes in the region came out to be 3.35%.

     I used that percentage again. However, since we have many more states now we should probably re-evaluate that average percentage.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I don't know. We asked the GM for this estimate the first time.

[Santander]

I'm sorry for my lack of debate on this, but I've been really busy and I'm currently reviewing my notes from my tax law and tax planning courses regarding cap gains and dividends. I fully support a traditional flat income tax + sales tax + corporate tax scheme. The 5-5-5 scheme I suggested was based off the successful Utah system, but it doesn't include consideration for cap gains or dividends.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I think I'll try my hand at computing a new tax basis. It shouldn't be too hard in Excel. Aside from that, I think we should be good to go with this.

[Anna Komnene]

     I think I'll try my hand at computing a new tax basis. It shouldn't be too hard in Excel. Aside from that, I think we should be good to go with this.

Thanks.  I'd been meaning to try it myself but just been distracted by a number of things.

[Terry the Fat Shark]

I support the remaining budget as is and I am ready to move forward on a vote.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I recomputed the average income tax rate and it came out to 3%. I'll revise the numbers to reflect this and then we can move to a final vote.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Here is the updated version:

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[Anna Komnene]

I think we're probably ready for a final vote here unless anyone has any objections?

[Anna Komnene]

We'll now take this to a final vote.  Members will vote AYE, NAY, or ABSTAIN.  This will be a 48 hour vote.

     Here is the updated version:

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[Anna Komnene]

Aye

[Deblano]

Aye.