re: State / Local taxes on chopping block in GOP tax plan.

I've always thought this should be eliminated as a deduction, even though I live in Louisiana which has a state income tax.

I am a firm believer in anything that "exposes" taxes and their effects to people. For example, there is a total freak out everytime sales taxes get raised. It's because people know they will pay more - and there is NO avoiding it. If state income tax were not deductible - people would scream bloody murder every time it was raised.

Eliminating the deduction is the ONLY way people get interested in local governments, and how they spend our money. Plus it is the only way for me to stop funding (essentially by a tax credit issued to taxpayers in other states) insane public policies in states like California that has basically done nothing I agree with in the last 50 years. If those morons want to keep rolling along like they already are - fine - but I'm tired of paying for their dysfunction.

I'd be fine if we abolished the IRS entirely and income taxes entirely and just paid for all government services with sales taxes. Nobody is exempt from sales taxes. And government works better when people are paying attention to it.

One question I do not know the answer to . . .and maybe somebody does . . . Is it unconstitutional for there to be a requirement on any ballot initiative affecting property taxes - that the voter is a property owner. I've never understood how people could vote on an increase to property tax, when they don't own property. That seems like taxation without representation to me.

TLDR: in short, I would be totally fine with this change, especially if it were accompanied by a change in the due date of tax returns to the Tuesday before election day. Along with a law that said nobody gets to receive any tax credit resulting in a greater number than net zero in paid taxes. It's dysfunctional crap for anyone to ever get more in a tax "refund" than they paid in.