Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 21, 1994 TAG: 9409230004
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
I would like to know if any of the candidates would support a federal add-on crime tax. That is a tax added to every court-collected fine of any nature, from parking tickets to multimillion-dollar corporate fines, to go to the federal government to be used to fight crime and pay people injured by criminals.
- Harold Bowman, Salem
COLEMAN: "That's an appealing idea, but I am wary of giving the federal government any excuse to raise taxes. Fines already go toward reducing the cost of law enforcement. Some laws provide restitution for victims of crime, and I think that is the appropriate approach."
NORTH: "I think we already have too many taxes. I believe we need a better allocation of the funds we have to fight crime, such as setting up a special anti-crime trust fund. We can get these funds by cutting waste in federal spending. I do favor compensation for victims."
ROBB: "As a former governor and strong believer in states' rights, I have serious problems with the expansion of the federal government into areas traditionally under the jurisdiction of state and local governments. Such a tax would greatly expand the reach of the federal government to such things as uniquely 'local' as parking tickets. I personally would want to think long and hard before allowing something like that.
"To fund anti-crime initiatives, I prefer the approach we took in the recently approved crime bill. We paid for the bulk of the bill's anti-crime provisions not through increased revenues, but through cuts in federal spending."
Got a question? Call our Citizens' Q&A line, and we'll make an effort to track down the candidates. Phone 981-3119 or (800) 346-1234, extension 119. Or E-mail us at bwarreninfi.net and be sure to include your name, address and phone number.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB