Taxes & Spending: Blog Posts

EAI believes Vermont is spending money on government services at an unsustainable rate. In order to pay for these services, Vermonters are being asked to pay more in taxes and fees with each passing year. Taxation must be limited else it will “defeat and render useless the power to create.”

By what principle should it be limited? There is a principle embedded in our system which provides inherent limits to all taxation. It is so basic to our political institutions that it should govern every legislator, every executive, and every judge. It precedes all our constitutions, all our laws, and all our political institutions. It brought them into existence; it sustains them; without it they are nothing.


All Blog Posts



Climate Council Discusses “All Economy” Carbon Tax

Why settle for new carbon taxes on just gasoline, diesel, and home heating fuels when you can apply a carbon tax to EVERYTHING! Implementing an “economy wide” “cap and invest” (wh... Read more



Senate Committee Contemplates Adding Motor Fuels to Clean Heat Standard

On Monday, the lightbulb went off over the heads of the members of the senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee that the Clean Heat Standard bill (H.715) that they are curren... Read more





The Inflation Tax, as Predicted by 1912 Economist

From December 2019 – December 2021, the M2 money supply (cash, checking deposits, and easily-convertible near money) increased 41... Read more





Vermont ranks 43rd in Business Tax Climate

The Tax Foundation released its annual State Business Climate rankings for 2022 on Thursday. Overall, Vermont scored 2nd worst in New England at #43, behind only Connec... Read more



Two tax increases proposed to lessen pension crisis

When Vermont’s Legislature appointed the Pension Benefits, Design, and Funding Task Force, there was a good chance tax increases would be discussed at some point. Now, Vermonters ... Read more







Guilt for Underfunded Pensions Lies with Legislature, Not Taxpayers

In testimony provided to the Pension, Benefits, Design and Funding Task Force on September 9, Paul Cillo, President of the Public Assets Institute, came to testify about the “fisc... Read more



Another Major Leak in the TCI Boat

When the folks at the Georgetown Climate Center put forward their memorandum of understanding for thirteen New England andRead more



Leahy’s Debt Limit Confusion

A... Read more



An Unsustainable Appetite for Spending

Steve Klein of the Joint Fiscal Office briefed the Pension and Benefits Task Force, whichRead more









Climate Council says the “C” word! Carbon Tax

During the July 8th meeting of the Vermont Climate Council’s Cross-Sector Mitigation Committee, the group started to delve into some ofRead more





8 VT Counties Expect Stimulus 10-26x their Annual Budgets

Some Vermont counties are set to get more money from the federal government in one year than they have gotten from Vermont taxpayers in the 21st century. Part of the Co... Read more



Rep. George Till, Sales Tax on Services Champion

            A few days ago I received a copy of an email to a constituent from Rep. George Till, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. The Committee is apparently discus... Read more



The “Cloud Tax” is Back! (And You Won’t Believe Where….)

For years, legislators on the left have been eager to tax so called “cloud” services, or, as the legal language refers toRead more





Vermont Ranks 41st in Taxpayer Return-On-Investment

Vermont ranked 41st out of 50 states, when it comes to taxpayers' return on investment (ROI). What Vermont taxpayers pay to Montpelier doesn’t get a great return relati... Read more



EAI Town Meeting Week Poll Results

During the Town Meeting Week break for the legislature, the Ethan Allen Institute commissioned a scientific poll (450 respondents) to gage where Vermonters are on some of the key ... Read more



Legislators Debate Doubling and Expanding the Bottle Deposit

There is a proposal making its way through the Vermont House of Representatives toRead more



Robbing the Transportation Fund to Pay for “Green” Priorities

There is a bill currently before the House Transportation Committee, “An act relating to transportation initiatives to reduceRead more





Feds Gave Every Vermonter $7229 on Average in 2020

The Peterson Foundation, that tracks government spending, recently came up with a surprising result.Read more



Montpelier Spending May Soon Cost Taxpayers More Per $

S&P Global Ratings changed its outlook for two major types of bonds to negative last week. Vermont's general obligation debt and the Vermont State College bonds outstanding ea... Read more



You Don’t Give Blood When You’re Bleeding

Yesterday the Vermont House of Representatives voted in favor of the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), sending the controversial legislation to the Governor’s desk for either h... Read more



Commentary: Recovery and Moving Forward

Vermonters battled their way out of the devastation of the 1927 flood.  But Vermont is now a far more expensive enterprise, that can’t be sustained when state revenues disappe... Read more



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