Legislators: It’s time to get serious

This is a good week to talk about taxes.

Just like it’s said that it’s money that makes the monkey dance, it’s taxes that allow us as a society to fund important services and projects. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again and again and again until we get ourselves as a state back on a reasonable track: when it comes to taxes, we as citizens of this state aren’t paying our fair share of the load.

A recent assessment of state revenues shows that no less than 40 percent comes from sources outside our borders, including a big share from corporate franchise fees because corporations like the reliability and predictability of our Court of Chancery. Other sources such as abandoned property from corporations that dissolve also contribute to our outside sources of funds.

It’s wonderful to have these special sources of revenue, but they have kept our own taxes artificially low relative to what people pay in most other states - not counting the high-tax states like New Jersey, New York and Maryland - to fund the infrastructure and services that keep us stable and functioning.

With an increasing population and downward pressure on casino revenues and some of the outside sources, the inevitable pinch is right in our faces this year.

We don’t have enough money to accomplish what needs to be accomplished.

Look no farther than our local roads. There are failing intersections - particularly in the Five Points area and on Route 24 - for which no plans are in place for relief. Malfunction Junction is a sad joke.

We can’t just keep our heads in the sand and think these problems will be resolved on their own. It’s time for our legislators to seriously focus on a package of phased-in tax and fee increases that will allow us to maintain and improve infrastructure critical to our quality of life, instead of passing off the problems to future generations.

Even with well-structured increases, we will still be among the lowest taxed citizens in the union.