Tennessee Tax Revolt
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Tennessee Tax Revolt is a nonpartisan grassroots political organization which grew out of efforts during the second administration of former governor of Tennessee Don Sundquist to enact a state income tax.
This organization coalesced around the efforts of Nashville real estate investor Ben Cunningham and several radio talk show hosts. The group became well-known for driving by the State Capitol building in Nashville honking their automobile horns at a volume which was audible even inside the Capitol building while the legislature was deliberating the issue inside. They also staged mass rallies. Late in Sundquist's term, a confrontation between the protestors and those inside the Capitol resulted in some windows of the Capitol building being broken. Sundquist's supporters immediately pointed a finger at the protestors, who countered that the only window proved to have been broken out with a rock appeared to have been broken from the inside. Tennessee Tax Revolt members also stated that media coverage of the event vastly overplayed the amount of violence involved and vastly underplayed the size and amount of peaceful protest.
This group, under Cunningham's leadership, also became involved in issues of governmental transparency. It was particularly interested in changing legislative rules to require recorded, rather than voice votes, in committee and subcommittee actions, where the vast majority of legislative work actually gets done (as opposed to floor sessions). In this, it worked alongside more established groups such as the usually-liberal Common Cause. (While this reform is yet to occur, neither has it vanished as an issue.)
A frequent criticism of the group was that it was strong in professing what it opposed but was bereft of a positive program of what it supported. In an effort to counter this and develop a new agenda, the group has embarked on a campaign for what it refers to as a Taxpayer Bill of Rights. What this idea consists of is the enactment of constitutional amendments similar to those enacted in Colorado over a decade ago which essentially require any increase in taxation or other measure which will result in the growth of government revenues at a rate faster than that of the combination of the increase in the population of the state and the cost of living index would be subject to approval in a referendum. Critics of the idea state that this is a departure from the idea of representative government and that the Colorado system has resulted in a general inability of government in Colorado to respond to growing needs. The Tax Revolt organization and other supporters counter by stating that Colorado has had one of the highest rates of economic growth of any U.S. state in the past decade. Both sides agree that this effort represents an attempt to co-opt the initiative and referendum movement for conservative rather than progressive purposes. Tennessee Tax Revolt's opponents also mention that the Tennessee constitution already contains provisions limiting the rate of growth of government revenues to that of personal income in the state and has done so since 1978. Tax Revolt members counter that this provision can be overridden by a simple majority vote of the legislature and has been no less than eleven times in recent years so that it has become essentially meaningless.
It seems unlikely that the Tax Revolt group will succeed in enacting anything resembling its "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" on the statewide level any time soon. However, it has already had a success on the local level in the city of Spring Hill, Tennessee where this plan has already been enacted. The size of this group and the level of support that it actually enjoys are subject to debate. It seems to have many more sympathizers than it does active, dues-paying members. It engages in a running debate with the pro-income tax Tennesseans for Fair Taxation organization, of which the same may be true. Supporters of Tennessee Tax Revolt, using the initiative and referendum process in the Memphis city charter, have obtained enough signatures to require a vote on the addition of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights concept to the charter in the November, 2004 election. However, this issue is being litigated, which may delay or cancel the referendum.
