Governor Unsure of Local Tax Issue

A commission that advises the legislature says that local governments should have more control over tax issues.

Now, when a city or county wants to add a tax, the issue must be presented as a bill and passed by the general assembly.

The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Regulations, known as TACIR, recommended last week the legislature get rid of that provision.

Governor Phil Bredesen has been both a city and state official. He says he’s unsure where he stands on the issue.

“As a former mayor, I, of course, love the idea of having local control over those things. As Governor, I’m also concerned that we not do things that might be easy in the local area, but can damage our competitiveness in the state as a whole, so it is something I’ll be looking at.”

Relaxing legislative oversight of local taxes is what growing counties, like Rutherford, want. They say school populations are outpacing the tax base, which leads to overcrowding.