It is your money after all
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its opinion in the case of Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn. The case hinges upon the issue of “standing”, which is a lawyer’s way of saying, do the people who have filed this law suit have the legal right to do so. But, the answer to that question is not the reason for this post.
First, let me explain the facts.
Arizona has a provision in its tax code that gives an individual taxpayer a tax credit of up to $500 per year for contributions he or she makes Student Tuition Organizations, or, STO’s. The STO’s then use the contributions received to provide scholarships to students. Many of the students receiving these scholarships use the money to attend religious schools.
A group of Arizona taxpayers sued claiming that this tax credit was a violation of the Establishment Clause, i.e., a violation of the “separation of church and state”. (Yes, I know that those words appear nowhere in the Constitution, but, please stay with me.) In other words, the taxpayers claimed that the net effect of this tax credit was that the State of Arizona was using public money to fund religious schools.
In deciding that the folks that sued lacked “standing” Mr. Justice Kennedy, in a 5-4 decision stated (at page 20) that the position taken by the taxpayers who challenged the law,
assumes that income should be treated as if it were government property even if it has not come into the tax collector’s hands.
According to Mr. Justice Kennedy, money isn’t government property until it is lawfully collected by the government.
Until then, it belongs to you.
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There aint no seperation of Church&State. (sorry for the aint Mom) she always hated that. So Barbara is this the Oligaracy? The choosen, rewriting law in defiance of the courts. Propety rights, not so much. All belongs to the choosen and shall be given as they see fit. Not in my life time, not on my watch and that you can take to the bank.
Interesting, SOS, would this possibly set precedent for all fees and hidden charges that are NOT actually collected by the government? (i.e. <a title="Bottle Bill" href="http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2714&q=324834" rel="nofollow">bottle deposits confiscated by the state, <a title="Lawsuit over Electric Bills" href="http://www.theday.com/article/20110328/NWS12/303289932/-1/NWS" rel="nofollow">charges on electric bills, etc.)
Very, very interesting…Someone finally gets it. Didn't take too long, did it? ha.
Wow! One has the the right to keep or dispose of ones money as one chooses? What a concept!
It is my money and Paul Ryan's common sense approach to the deficit? Just too much good news to take in all in one morning!!!
Yeah, it is your money, but the second you do something with it (legally, anyway) the government gets a cut, be it state, federal or local.
Every time money changes hands, one criminal or another gets a cut.
If you overpay your taxes, which most folks seem to do, is it then the government's money?
This case makes my hair hurt and I really can't get my arms around it, but Dimsdale makes the point of the day: "Every time money changes hands, one criminal or another gets a cut."
What about the fact that for every dollar CT sends to DC we get $.68 back. Whats that a 32% transaction fee. Lets eliminate the middleman.
Mr. Kennedy should have gone farther. He should have stated that the government is the steward of the American taxpayer's money. And as such, has the responsibility to be as prudent with these dollars as if they were their own.
SOS you racist. how dare you suggest its not the money of Gov.? You know white people stole it from the blacks, latinos and native americans
In re-reading the SOS’s excellent post,?I pose a question:? If the taxpayer’s money becomes government money upon payment, can?the government then?tell the American taxpayer that they?have no say in how the money is used??
Thus infringing on our right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.?
Look at how they treated corporations before the Citizens United decision….