By Forrest Adams

Is there a tax revolution underway in the country? Some people from Eden Prairie, Chanhassen and Victoria think so, and they plan to participate in a “tax day tea party” at the state capitol on April 15.

Eden Prairie resident Jerry Labarre, 77, doesn’t plan to attend the event but said after watching national politics for many years, he thinks, “The spark is finally there.”

It has ignited in some a burning desire to stand against what they see as federal government excesses coming at the expense of the general population. Chanhassen resident Kellie Cripe summed up many peoples’ feelings by saying, “Watching the federal government continue to increase government spending with the stimulus and the budget is concerning.”

Victoria resident Karrie Shroyer said the emphasis for a “tax day tea party” is on “getting the government not to spend so much money.”

“We’re trying to make a stand against all the spending. We’re trying to take a stand against future tax increases and the future loss of the country to whoever is taking our debt,” she said.

Chanhassen resident Gene Tseplaev, a medical doctor, has a similar perspective but a different frame of reference to consider what’s happening in the country. Looking at the federal government spending money on “stimulus” programs and becoming increasingly involved in private industry, he’s reminded of his native Russia during the years of the U.S.S.R.

“They are coming out and defining what it means to be rich. How do they define it? Where do they get the number? If you look at the worldwide population, 99 percent of this country is “rich.” Does that mean you overtax everybody?” He asked. “What’s going to come in the future is the government deciding who makes money. The government will decide how much doctors are paid, engineers are paid, etc. The government will take all the money and then give some to the people. It’s socialism. The government decides how much people get paid and keeps the rest for themselves.”

Taking up the rant

It’s been more than a month since Rick Santelli from CNBC was ranting against “bail-outs” of mortgages and big business and called for a “tea party in July” on Lake Michigan.

His reference was to the Boston tea party in December 1773 when colonists disguised as Native Americans boarded a British vessel and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor in protest of a duty on the imported tea. “Taxation without representation” has been the refrain ever since.

Since then national conservative leaders have amplified his message, organizing “tea parties” in cities all across the country. The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, the grassroots organization sponsoring the April 15 Tax Day Tea Parties, says its message is focused on one theme: Repeal the Pork, Cut Taxes and Spending.
Critics of the movement claim it’s a case of Republicans crying over spilt milk because Democrats have won the last two elections by large margins. Minnesota event coordinator, Antoinette “Toni” Backdahl, a Plymouth resident, said that’s not exactly the case.
“When we pick parties, there’s a problem,” she said. “This isn’t Republican or Democrat. This is an ongoing effort that has been on people’s minds for a while.”

More than 500 tea parties are confirmed for April 15. In Minnesota so far 11 cities have confirmed they’ll hold tax day tea parties. Backdahl expects thousands of “conservatives, libertarians, constitutionalists, blue-dog Democrats, and concerned citizens” to gather at the state capitol.

Tax angst

Tax angst is what at least one local tax accountant has felt this season from clients filing their income tax returns.

“They ask themselves, ‘Why am I paying these taxes?’ They’re tired of the economy, tired of the war, tired of the spending, tired of losing in the stock market. They’re fed up with the overall system. People are totally ticked off at the government,” he said before asking not to be named in this story.