The Lawyer, the Bible, and the Governor

[Classical_Liberal]

The Lawyer, the Bible, and the Governor

How the Bible, a newspaper article, and simple biblical ethics put a Southern law professor at the cutting edge of a tax reform movement.
An interview with Susan Pace Hamill

Susan Pace Hamill, a professor at the University of Alabama Law School specializing in federal corporate tax law, had previously worked at two prestigious law firms and at the IRS. Her research on the Alabama tax code - the most regressive and harsh on the working poor of any in the country - led her to write "An Argument for Tax Reform Based on Judeo-Christian Ethics." Her article convinced Alabama's conservative Republican Gov. Bob Riley to propose a state constitutional amendment that would have revolutionized tax policy in Alabama. The proposal failed in the 2003 vote, but the reform work continues - with the potential of spurring a nationwide movement for tax justice. This is her story, as told to Sojourners associate editor Julie Polter.

I had lived in Alabama seven years, which has more taxes than you could shake a stick at, and I had never focused on the state and local inequity. I'm not proud of that. However, I did notice that the first property tax bill for our house was so low that I thought it was for the month instead of the year. I read grocery sales slips thinking, "That's too high on groceries, that's not right." And every year for state income tax I would get refunds while I was writing checks to Uncle Sam.

Meanwhile, my kids are attending a C- funded school system, one of the few in the state I deem minimally adequate, and every year the teachers are begging for donations to cover things. The signs of inequity were there, but......

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.

[salin]

1. Can't find this article.

direct link - or name of author (so I can search the sojourner's recent issues) - thanks.