Further, all of them take the following format: “The
legislature eliminated/extended, without a vote of the people, [some loophole
or special consideration], costing approximately [large sum of money] in the
first ten years (so divide that number
by 10, which makes it less large) , for government spending.” That is pretty
scary language to say – We did “THIS” which will bring in “THIS MUCH MONEY” for
the budget and probably doesn't affect you directly.
And the thing is, almost all these things are extensions of
existing taxes or eliminations of loopholes. But due to our TOTAL FREAKOUT
about anything that even smells of taxes, they are referred to as “a new tax”,
which they really aren’t. And then we ask you, the voters to Maintain or Repeal
this “new tax”
Let me get to the quick of it. If you hate taxes in any
form, under any definition, against anybody, and want a magic pony that you
don’t have to feed or clean up after, you should vote to repeal all of these.
If you feel this process is more than a little broken, but want to keep them
from looking in your pocket for more operating revenues, vote to MAINTAIN these
decisions.
And, if you want to know what you are voting on, here’s
the deal.
Advisory Vote No. 3 (Substitute Senate Bill 5444) eliminates
a tax credit for taxpayers who lease publicly-held property.
Advisory Vote No. 4 (Senate Bill 5627) - CREATES an excise tax on commuter air
carriers instead of a property tax. (Does this mean they are no longer paying
property taxes? Is this a tax change as opposed to a tax increase or maybe a
tax shift or a tax polymorph?)
Advisory Vote No. 5 (Engrossed Substitute House Bill
1846) extends an insurance premium tax for some insurance on pediatric oral
services (Braces? Surgery? The little toothbrushes they put in the bag?)
Advisory Vote No. 6 (Second Engrossed Second Substitute
House Bill 1971) eliminates a retail tax exemption on certain telephone and
telecommunications systems.
Advisory Vote No. 7 (Engrossed House Bill 2075) extends
an estate tax on certain high-valued property.
You see part of the problem here as well. CERTAIN
properties? SOME insurance? Which ones? The Voters’ Guide is unclear, as the
law does not require explanatory statements or arguments for or against. It
does give us a list of how these votes originally passed, and to be frank, there are not any that are even close. (and most of the guys
I’ve endorsed in the past have voted Yea on these, so since I PUT these guys in charge to do exactly these votes, I'm going to support them).
I’m going for MAINTAIN on these non-binding bits of
political theater, but I do want to know more about the Second Engrossed Second
Substitute House Bill 1971 (to see if it includes candlestick phones). But that’s just me.
