Fisking Lynch

Let's take a closer look at the Governor's statement this afternoon after signing the state's two-year, $11.6 billion budget into law.

Lynch said the budget "reduces general fund spending,"

True, if you compare this budget to a budget that never happened. This budget increases general fund spending from the current budget. By removing $200 million from the General Fund, but spending it elsewhere, Governor Lynch claims that General Fund spending is down from the budget approved two years ago, which increased General Fund spending by 17.5%. But that money wasn't spent. While it was immediately apparant that the rosy revenue figures used to balance the budget weren't going to happen, it took the Governor and Legislature several months to cut spending from the approved budget through Executive Orders and the Fiscal Committee.

Saying that this budget "reduces general fund spending" is true in the same way that Harry Potter can fly on a broomstick. Both are true, but only in your imagination.

"protects essential services without an income tax,"

There's no general income tax. This budget does includes an income tax on people who set up their small businesses as Limited Liability Corporations. From now, the Department of Revenue Administration will decide how much salary is appropriate for these small business owners, and tax anything they don't approve of. It also taxes gambling income at 10%, though lucky Granite Staters who win over $600 at Foxwoods or in Las Vegas will probably just avoid the tax anyway.

"a sales tax"

Again, there's no general sales tax. But this budget increases the state's sales tax on rooms and meals from 8% to 9%, and extends the tax to cover campgrounds, which provide neither.

"or an increase in the gas tax,"

True. The state gas tax does not go up. Instead, tolls are going up statewide starting today.

"but by closing loopholes."

A loophole to tax collector is a new tax to a taxpayer. Applying existing taxes to new people and new behaviors isn't "closing loopholes." It's changing tax policy by raising taxes on activities that weren't taxes before. Many of these so-called loopholes were inserted into the budget with little notice and no public input. The DRA will now have to start collecting taxes that people had no way to prepare for. DRA officials had the power to go after tax cheats under existing law. Instead, they sought new laws to tax everyone for doing things they thought should be taxes.

But he's right about the gas tax. We're trying to accentuate the positive.