Confusing, Deceptive and Unnecessary New Tax
Independence Tax Question 1 on the April 3rd ballot asks us to impose a New “Local Use Tax”. The City is not up-front on the fact that If Question 1 passes, only Independence residents will pay more for all Online purchases. We have not been told nor does the ballot state what exactly will be taxed. What does “Local Use Tax” mean? See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_tax.
The ballot language is Confusing and Deceptive. The City has not defined the exact need for this New Tax. Further, there is No explanation on the ballot of how this tax will be collected or enforced. The ballot does not state exactly where the money will go. If passed, this “Use Tax” can be raised without your vote. It will never end (no renewal date).
This is an Unnecessary New Tax. There is no logical explanation for more taxes! The City has a 291 million dollar budget, 6 special sales taxes (Fire, Police, Streets, Parks, Tourism and Storm Water taxes), a long list of fees for City services, 4 million a year income from fines and court costs, ever increasing real estate and property taxes, added taxes on our utility bills and a sales tax rate as high as 8.85%. Moreover, the City receives an undisclosed amount of grants from our Federal and State taxes.
We recently passed tax increases for Police and Fire. How can a “Local Use Tax “be needed for these departments now? The City asks us for more taxes about every other year. Isn’t it time to encourage the City to live within its budget like we have too?
Tell the City that you don’t want them to tax you in the privacy of your home while shopping online. Vote NO on NEW TAX Question 1.
Henry Carner
Retired Independence Fire Captain
No comments:
Post a Comment