Beacon Center of Tennessee » transparency

Tax dollars spent on booze and porn?

editor — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:12:37 +0000

The Beacon Center’s Justin Owen takes the state Dept. of Human Services to task for its failure to oversee a federal welfare program that gives debit cards to families in need. A WSMV, Channel 4 News investigation found that the debit cards were being swiped at adult bookstores and bars.

“Is this really how we’re helping ailing families, giving them taxpayer money to booze it up and enhance their porn stash?” asked Owen. “This is what people are angry about these days.”

Watch the entire interview here.

Business Journal notes Beacon’s position on incentives

editor — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:12:14 +0000

In a feature story on state Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty, the Nashville Business Journal takes note of the Beacon Center’s position on economic development incentives. From Friday’s print edition:

”Free market gropus like Beacon Center of Tennessee are pushing [the Haslam administration] to lower tax rates and ditch incentives, calling them wasteful, unfair to other businesses and market distorting.”

Read a summary of the full story here.

Comptroller scolds former Revenue chief

editor — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:39:40 +0000

In a recent letter sent to legislative leaders, the state Comptroller called into question the use of “tax variances” by former Dept. of Revenue commissioner Reagan Farr. As noted by Tennessee Watchdog, the commissioner appears to have used his authority to change certain companies’ tax bills in exchange for their promise to invest in economic development in the state. This exposes yet another example of corporate welfare by the state’s former top tax collector. Read the entire story at TennesseeWatchdog.org.

TCPR’s new report featured on Channel 4 News

editor — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:54:26 +0000

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research was featured on WSMV, Channel 4 News in Nashville. TCPR recently released a report showing how local entrepreneurs were harmed by needless red tape imposed by Music City bureaucrats. One such entrepreneur is Pat Raynor, who is banned from starting her own home-based business due to stringent rules against serving clients from the home. Pat’s story is also featured in Channel 4′s coverage. Watch the entire interview here.

The entire TCPR report, titled “A Burdensome Tune,” can be downloaded at this link.

Lt. Gov. support’s TCPR’s fiscal note reform proposal

editor — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:10:31 +0000

As covered by TN Report, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey has thrown his support behind a Tennessee Center for Policy Research proposal to reform the state’s fiscal note process. In a policy brief issued last week, TCPR called on lawmakers to reform the process for calculating the cost of legislation, encouraging legislative leaders to not only consider the impact on state tax dollars, but also the impact new legislation will have on the private sector. Read TN Report’s article here.

TCPR’s new policy brief, titled Accurately Calculating the Cost of Tennessee Legislation, can be found at this link.

TCPR offers solution to protect taxpayers and small businesses

editor — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:00:29 +0000

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Center for Policy Research today released a policy brief outlining a proposal to improve the process for calculating the cost of state legislation. TCPR senior fellow and former state Rep. Donna Barrett authored the brief, titled Accurately Calculating the Cost of Tennessee Legislation.

The brief will be provided to legislative leaders in an effort to encourage them to review and revise the currently flawed process for calculating fiscal notes, which are cost analyses attached to every bill filed in the General Assembly.

Among the proposed changes, Barrett calls for the process to include an analysis on the impact legislation has on the private sector. Currently, only the impact on state tax revenues or expenditures is calculated, yet legislation almost always impacts the private sector, often in a negative way.

“Although small businesses are the backbone of our economy, lawmakers never consider the impact their actions will have on these job creators,” said Barrett. “It’s time to revise the fiscal note process to protect taxpayers and small businesses alike.”

The brief further calls for more stringent calculations that would protect taxpayers’ hard-earned money more than the current process affords.

“When lawmakers rely on a flawed process for calculating the cost of proposed legislation, taxpayers often get left holding the bag,” said TCPR president Justin Owen. “I appreciate the work Rep. Barrett has done to identify and offer a solution to this glaring problem, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with her and legislative leaders to implement the proposals.

The brief can be downloaded at: http://www.tennesseepolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/Accurately-Calculating-the-Cost-of-Tennessee-Legislation.pdf.

Prior to joining the Tennessee Center for Policy Research as a senior fellow, Barrett served in the Tennessee House of Representatives for ten years. During her tenure, she was heavily involved in reviewing the cost of proposed legislation as a member of the House Fiscal Review Committee and chairman of the House Republican Caucus Bill Review Committee.

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan think tank committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee. Through research and advocacy, the Center promotes policy solutions grounded in the principles of free markets, individual liberty, and limited government. For more information, visit www.tennesseepolicy.org.

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2011 Pork Report uncovers $371 million in government waste

editor — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:25:14 +0000

NASHVILLE, TN – The Tennessee Center for Policy Research today released its 2011 Tennessee Pork Report, exposing that state and local governments across Tennessee wasted $371 million over the past year. For the sixth consecutive year, Tennessee’s premier free market think tank partnered with taxpayer watchdog Citizens Against Government Waste to document waste, fraud, and abuse at all levels of Tennessee government.

Examples of wasteful spending outlined in the 2011 Pork Report include:

$140 million to pay a European company to relocate to Memphis;
$14.5 million on an unnecessary solar energy program run by the state;
$2.5 million to provide tax credits to Nissan Leaf purchasers, which could lead to an increase in state gas taxes;
$131,000 to send utility district employees on exotic trips around the globe; and
$95,000 wasted by Nashville’s criminal court clerk who only works three days each week.

“Yet again, state and local governments failed to live up to taxpayers’ expectations by wasting their hard-earned money,” said Justin Owen, president of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. “With our economy in dire straits, the last thing government officials should be doing is offering handouts to corporations, dreaming up whimsical environmental programs, and using taxpayer money for their personal use. It’s time for them to become better stewards of Tennesseans’ money.”

In addition to exposing wasteful government spending habits, the report also offers three effective solutions to eliminate waste and promote more responsible, transparent government. The report serves as an informative and valuable resource for policymakers and taxpayers alike.

“Tennesseans should arm themselves with the Pork Report and hold their elected officials accountable for government waste,” said Ben Cunningham, spokesman for Tennessee Tax Revolt, who participated in the report’s release. “Only then can we truly cut the fat in government.”

The litany of examples of government waste, fraud, and abuse in the 2011 Pork Report come from state and local government budgets, media reports, appropriations bills, state audits, and independent research conducted by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.

An electronic version of the report can be found at: http://www.tennesseepolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2011-Tennessee-Pork-Report.pdf. Hardcopies can be purchased by calling (615) 383-6431 or emailing info@tennesseepolicy.org.

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through the ideas of liberty. Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

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Corporate welfare hits a snag in Nashville

editor — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 08:00:24 +0000

July 18, 2011

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research continues its efforts to expose the problems with corporate welfare since releasing the 2011 Tennessee Pork Report in late June. In a recent interview with WSMV Channel 4 News, TCPR president Justin Owen discusses how a company planning to relocate to Nashville almost cost taxpayers $1.6 million. Watch the entire video below.

Deal to bring 900 jobs to Nashville on hold

TCPR calls proposed tax increase “outlandish”

editor — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:46:21 +0000

Tennessee Center for Policy Research president Justin Owen talks with Channel 4 News about Metro Nashville’s proposal to increase a Comcast public television tax by 1,200 percent. The extra $1.2 million a year would be used to purchase televisions for Metro buildings, buy a mobile production unit, and convert all public television to high-definition.

Watch the entire interview here.

Fee hike unfair for many customers

editor — Fri, 27 May 2011 14:50:19 +0000

Tennessee Center for Policy Research president Justin Owen and Ben Cunningham, spokesman for Tennessee Tax Revolt, pen a column in Friday’s Tennessean about a plan to raise Nashville Comcast customers’ taxes by 1,200 percent. Among other things, the additional revenue would go to convert all Metro government programming to high-definition. Visit the Tennessean‘s website for the original article, the unedited version of which is printed below.

by Ben Cunningham & Justin Owen

In the run-up to his reelection campaign, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean promised voters that he would not raise their property taxes. Nashvillians could breathe a collective sigh of relief for avoiding a tax increase during an economic recession…or so they thought.

Enter the “Bat Poet,” an apparently beloved yet likely trademark infringing knock-off of Batman, whose show airs on Nashville public access television in grainy off-color. In many airings, scantily clad burlesque models make cameos on the show. If only such quality programming were in HD. Mayor Dean to the rescue, casting Metro taxpayers as the villains.

Mayor Dean has quietly laid the groundwork for a whopping 1,200 percent increase in a tax Comcast customers pay to provide this public access television throughout Nashville. In exchange for a nickel tacked onto their Comcast bills, Nashville residents currently receive televised access to local government proceedings, Metro events, and other local shows.

Dean wants to jack up the monthly fee from five cents to 65 cents. While 65 cents a month doesn’t sound like a big deal, taxpayers are already being nickel and dimed into oblivion. A dollar here, a dollar there, and pretty soon we’re talking real money.

The mayor wants to use this additional tax revenue to equip all Metro buildings with television services. The plan also includes the purchase of a mobile production unit and receiving station to televise events throughout the city. And best of all, the mayor wants to bring taxpayers Metro Council meetings and other televised proceedings, including “Bat Poet,” in high-definition.

Not only does this plan represent a colossal waste of taxpayer money, it unfairly punishes certain taxpayers while others get the windfall. First, the tax only applies to Comcast customers. Those who opt for Comcast’s competitors, such as AT&T or DirectTV, get the same service without the cost. Surely Comcast customers are not the only spectators of “Bat Poet,” and therefore should not bear the full cost of airing the absurd melodrama.

Further, taxing all Comcast customers for the high-definition upgrade poses a similar problem. It is estimated that only 40 percent of Comcast customers pay for high-definition access. Thus, a significant majority of customers will fork over extra dough for a service they cannot even take advantage of without incurring even more costs by purchasing HD.

As the spokesmen for Tennessee’s leading government watchdog organizations, we commend the mayor and the city for their partnership with Comcast to bring more open, transparent government to Nashville residents, batty shows notwithstanding. However, this 1,200 percent tax hike will do nothing to make Metro government more transparent. It will merely put less money in taxpayers’ pockets and sharper images on their TV screens. If Mayor Dean wants superhero status, he needs to drop his call for this unfair, unnecessary tax hike.

Ben Cunningham is the spokesman for Tennessee Tax Revolt. Justin Owen is president of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.