Show-Me Distortion
Sales tax holidays are bad enough, but sales tax holidays that apply only to things people wouldn’t normally buy are even worse:
The [Show-Me Green Tax Holiday] plan calls for a weeklong elimination of state sales tax on Energy Star-designated appliances each year.
The idea is that people will have greater incentive to purchase "energy-efficient products," but it’s not the state’s job to adjust people’s incentives the way a puppeteer lifts the strings of a marionette. Of course, the state should protect the environment by regulating the disposal of toxic waste, controlling dangerous substances, etc. But a weeklong sales tax holiday won’t have any noticeable effect on the environment, and it will cause harmful economic distortion.
