Here & There 3-6-07

More Sales Tax Less Property Tax?

So now taxpayers in Sullivan County are looking at an 8 percent sales tax and what are they going to get for the half percent increase.
Some have said for many years now that property taxes in Sullivan County are way too high and its all simply because government refuses to consolidate or downsize.
Politicians say they don't like taxes but every change they get to slip an increase by us they do it and then offer some stupid excuse like there is no other way to do it.
Sullivan County with the half percent increase in sales tax would be uses as follows:
Some 50 percent of the increase would go into the county's unreserved fund balance in order to improve the county's credit rating for mandated capital projects such as building of the new county jail......which by the way is mandated by the state.....but funded by the county.
The remaining fifty percent of the increased tax, split in three ways, would go to the Department of Public Works for road maintenance not included in the 2007 budget, another third to the Department of Public Safety in the area of law enforcement and to bolster the efforts of the sheriff's office, probation, fire EMS and 911 services, and another third would go to open space preservation in order to mitigate the devastation of residential and commercial properties from the 2006 June flood.
Now quite honestly one cannot argue against any of these three needs, but, we don't like the state mandating issues unless they match the costs and budgeting of
road maintenance belongs in the regular budget not thrown in a sales tax increase.
There is so much truth in the statement that property taxes are the least favored of all taxes that some areas of our country have turned to increases sales taxes but it must be said that sales taxable purchases tend to be made from wage and salary income and economic trends can have a direct effect on sales tax revenue.
Revenue options for any uncertain fiscal future apparently favors increases in the sales tax rate which doesn't get as much opposition as increases in property taxes.
Figures vary from state to state but we have heard that in one area a half percent increase in the sales tax would generate an additional $352 million in revenue. One part of the country we have visited boasts no increases in their city property taxes because of the revenue from sales taxes.
We don't have any local figures immediately available but we wonder what type of revenue would be generated from an increase of 1 percent in the local sales tax....it's not uncommon to travel to other areas of our country and pay a 9 percent sales tax and much lower property taxes.
We compliment Sullivan County Manager David Fanslau for a job well done in his preparation and presentation to support the half percent increase in the county sales tax..........what kind of revenue could be generated from a higher county sales tax and a serious study of government restructuring and consolidation?