Taxes are one of the top concerns I hear about in the 105th. Taxes are complicated and how we manage then will have a big effect on the future of Michigan. My experience will only take me so far in understanding the tax issues. Yesterday I found the Tax Foundation web site and they have a set of guidelines for dealing with tax proposals that I thought were excellent.

1) Simplicity: The tax system should be simple, easy to understand, and not impose excessive compliance burdens.
2) Transparency: Taxes should be visible to taxpayers, who should easily be able to understand who and what is being taxed.
3) Stability: Tax law should not change continually, and changes in tax law should not be retroactive.
4) Neutrality: Taxes should aim to raise revenue with a minimum of economic distortion, and should not attempt to micromanage the economy.
5) Growth-promotion: Taxes should raise revenue for programs while consuming as small a portion of national income as possible, and should interfere with economic growth, trade and capital flows as little as possible.