Misguided Action

Recent action by the state Board of Equalization to deny tax deduction of business expenses when they are incurred at private clubs labeled as “discriminatory” is perhaps well-intentioned but dangerously misguided.

Attacking the elitist bastions of the well-to-do has great political appeal. But I worry when tax regulation is used as the vehicle for carrying out social policy, especially a policy that deals with so subjective an issue.

For once the tumult and shouting have died, how does the state propose to carry out its noble aim? Is the already strained budget of the Board of Equalization to be directed toward enforcement of social policy rather than revenue enhancement?

Labels are easily attached but slow to be erased. The fact is that many of these clubs already include so-called minorities as members. This was a response to eroding stereotypical images and changing mores, not to government fiat.

Many activists will respond that more needs to be done faster. To them I ask, “How much is more and how fast is fast?” Will quotas be used to measure compliance? What further intrusions into our private lives might we anticipate in the name of tax enforcement?

The federal government has spent the last two years trying to clean up an internal revenue code that reflected more than 30 years of tinkering in the name of “public policy.” Our state government should prosecute allegations of discrimination in the courts, using proper judicial procedure.

EDWARD J. SUSANK

Downey