---

---

Tax
April 1997
Require Two-Thirds Vote to Tax	Advocates of restraint in federal spending are hoping Congress will approve a Constitutional amendment to require a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to raise taxes. Congress is scheduled to vote on the measure today. Supporters argue that the concept of super-majority vote has always been part of our democratic republic. The requirement for a two-thirds vote appears 10 times in the Constitution. It is necessary in order to ratify a treaty, to override a presidential veto and to convict an impeached official. Thirteen states now have some form of super-majority tax limitations. Taxes and spending have grown more slowly and economies have expanded faster in those states, according to statistics compiled by Americans for Tax Reform. Proponents cite another study which found that 96 percent of witnesses at 14 congressional hearings called to testify on increased spending programs favored more spending -- evidence that advocates of reduced spending need more clout. Since 1978, California has required a two-thirds majority of its legislature to approve tax increases. The state budget was $14 billion then and is about $61.5 billion now. This is evidence, proponents say, that a super-majority requirement does not make it impossible to raise taxes; but they believe that it has often discouraged tax-increase advocates from running wild. Source: Joel Fox (Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association), "Making Taxing Harder," Wall Street Journal, April 15, 1997.