|
|
The
Commonwealth Foundation
August 31,2001
David Tuerck, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Beacon Hill Institute
8 Ashburton Place
Boston, Massachusetts 02108-2770
Dear
David:
I
write to thank you and your staff for
the outstanding work you have done in providing us with the STAMP tax model
for Pennsylvania. It has been an invaluable
tool for us and, in just the past few months, we have employed it successfully
in a key fight to prevent a tax increase.
As
you know, some legislators in Pennsylvania are fighting
mightily to include our state in the group seeking to expand sales taxes
to all Internet and other remote purchases. While we were readily able
to show the static effect that the proposal would have on taxpayers and
consumers in Pennsylvania, we looked to the STAMP model to help us show
the dynamic effect of this tax increase on jobs and our economy. With
your help, we were able to show legislators and other policy-makers that
Pennsylvania would forfeit more than 90,000 jobs going forward if the
Internet sales tax plan became reality.
You will be
quite pleased to know that the tax advocates, at their request, were provided
with our study and the STAMP users' manual the Beacon Hill produced. They,
I assume, thought that they would be able to tear
the model apart and show the state the error of our ways. They have said
not one substantive word critical of the model, which tells me that your
work has withstood the most hostile and biased scrutiny. This is a strong
testament to the thoroughness and the care of Beacon Hill's product. We will be using the STAMP model in the weeks ahead
to show Pennsylvania policy makers how a dramatic reduction in business
taxes can boost our state's anemic job-creation record, and we have had
interest from key leaders from around the state in how the model can help
them shape their own policy proposals. All
in all, adding the STAMP model to The Commonwealth Foundation's research
tools has been an important and extremely helpful development for us this
year. We look forward to even greater impact in the months ahead.
Please
count me among your most grateful admirers.
Very truly yours,
Sean Duffy
President
|