Jane Brady is the chair of A Better Delaware. She previously served as state attorney general and as a judge of the Delaware Superior Court.
There has been a lot of coverage and comments recently about the significant increases in property and school taxes. The significance of the increases is largely due to an irresponsible delay in property reassessment for over 40 years, resulting in discrepancies and unfairness in the amounts paid by landowners.
Assessments are taxes, and we have a lot of them in Delaware. Our legislature’s appetite is voracious. The growth in spending and the increase in the rate of growth — when looked at over the last 25 years — are alarming. The numbers below are from state government sources.
It was in 2001 when Delaware’s budget first approximated $1 billion. By 2009, that number had grown to $3.63 billion. In 2020, it was $4.4 billion, and in 2025, it is $6.5 billion. The pace at which the state is spending is increasing.
Now, maybe you don’t mind paying taxes. After all, if the funds are helping people who need it, if the money is being spent efficiently and effectively, then there is reason to support the expenditures. I wish we could say that is so.
This year, to ease the burden of managing the spending of your money, the state has decided to just give every student a free lunch, not limiting that service to those who have needs. There is so much inaccuracy in managing the money in the unemployment program, the funds cannot be accurately audited to determine if the people the state is paying truly qualify and if they are being paid the right amount. And, in education, students continue to test in the bottom of the nation.
The disappointing results in student performance continue, despite the fact that spending on education has increased significantly. Delaware is in the top tier of all states for spending on learning. In fact, fully one-third of the budget is spent on it. But the state is 46th in student performance. This is not effective spending at all.
Where does this money for our budget come from? On average, over the years, about 40% comes from individual income taxes, 40% from licenses, 15% from gross receipts taxes and the balance from miscellaneous sources. Delaware’s personal income tax rate is in the top 10 in the nation, and its corporate tax rate is, as well.
If more spending doesn’t improve our education system, do our tax and spending policies make our economy better? It does not appear so. According to USAFacts, Delaware’s annualized gross domestic product growth was 1.7% over five years, placing Delaware 46th out of our 50 states. And, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the state’s economy grew 0% in the first quarter of 2025.
What should be done to improve results and lower the tax burden on Delaware citizens? First, eliminate the gross receipts tax. After all, you ultimately pay it in the costs of the items you buy. Gross receipts taxes are levied on the sales of items in grocery and hardware stores, mom-and-pop bakeries and taco stands. It is a double tax that hits small businesses especially hard because it taxes the money made on sales before the owner takes out supplies, wages and rent. Then, after he or she takes home a little money, that is taxed as income. Most states have eliminated this type of tax. Delaware should, too.
We should demand that our education system starts producing the product it promises — learning. Delaware should adopt the policy that Mississippi and other states have: Require third graders be able to read at grade level before being passed to fourth grade. Mississippi, which had been at the bottom of the rankings for 30 years, is now ranked 21 among states for student performance. The difference in only six years? Its students can read. Every student, teacher and parent was invested in a result that changed students’ lives — getting them to read well enough to be promoted. Now, they can read, and those students can learn! In Delaware, we are graduating students who truly cannot read. It is not fair to them, their families or the rest of us that we are failing them so badly.
And we should work to encourage a vigorous business climate in Delaware. Bring in good businesses with well-paying jobs. Know that it will be difficult until we improve our education results, as the people who bring their companies to Delaware want their children to be able to learn. We should adopt tax policies that encourage young entrepreneurs to open and grow businesses, plus offer expanded learning and training opportunities for those interested in trades and technology.
Delaware has been considered a leader since this country’s inception. The truth is tarnished, but the spark is not expired. We all have reason to be invested in Delaware’s success in the future — for our families and those who will come after us. Let us be committed — now — to A Better Delaware.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
