States that Spend Less, Tax Less — and Grow More

Dave Trabert and Todd Davidson of Kansas Policy Institute contribute an editorial to the Wall Street Journal that explains the importance of controlling spending. By restraining spending, states can have low taxes, which in turn allows the private sector economy to grow.

States that Spend Less, Tax Less — and Grow More

States with an income tax spent 42% more per resident in 2011 than the nine states without an income tax.

By Dave Trabert and Todd Davidson

In the midst of a dismal recovery where every job counts, one fact stands out: States that tax less achieve better economic performance. Conventional thinking (at least within government) says that low state taxes are dependent upon having access to unusual revenue sources, but that’s not it. A state could be awash in oil and gas severance taxes and still have a high tax burden if the government will not exercise restraint.

The secret to having low taxes is controlling spending, and that’s exactly what low-tax-burden states do.

Continue reading at Wall Street Journal (subscription required) or at Kansas Policy Institute.