In Korea or Carolina, ?spend and tax? is the rule of government.
Korean corporate bailouts have quadrupled national debt to 300 trillion won ($310 billion), one-third of GDP. President Roh now wants to expand social services spending and raise taxes to pay for them. As Ohio has already done, President Roh Moo-hyun is pitching the tax increase as ?tax reform? that broadens the base.
Kim Woo-cheol of the Korea Institute of Public Finance, however, has a new report that finds ?tax cuts raise national income 1.2 to 2.9 times more than bigger government spending,? according to the Korea Herald.
With a billion-dollar structural deficit likely waiting for the General Assembly when it returns in January, expect big-spending politicians to take the argument that we need revenue-enhancing tax reform in North Carolina. Real tax reform sticks to some basic principles and practices.
