Your Opinion: Sales tax for fire department #2

Dear Editor:

Like most of you I recently received a flyer in the mail regarding the supposed benefits of Proposition 2. Our city leaders are once again attempting to raise sales tax of one quarter percent for a fire department improvement plan.

They profess this will provide a lowering of fire insurance rates, increased medical services, etc. and that the average household cost is only a $4 annual increase. I think we all know these benefits are exaggerated and the tax impact to families is significantly understated.

In their tax calculations, what they fail to tell you is that the real impact per family is indeed much greater than the $4 dollars per year as they fail to include the following:

• Families that rent will not benefit from the offsetting lower rate on property taxes so even using their flawed calculation, the average family in Jefferson City who rents would see increased taxes of $29 per year.

• Their calculations do not include the impact on major purchases, such as a car, trailer, RV, boats, furniture, etc. which would be taxed at an additional quarter percent. Example; if you were to purchase a car for $15,000, the sales tax on this vehicle would be an additional $37.50 over what it is now.

My guess is the City Council also has the liberty to use this tax increase to fund whatever they decide to spend it on whether it's this improvements or not. Could it be a disguise to provide additional funds to build a conference center which the people of Jefferson City have turned down repeatedly and justifiably so. We already have underutilized conference facilities here in Jefferson City and simply don't need one.

We must stand up again to city tax increases. Once they are implemented they never go away and always ask for more every few years. With the current hyperinflation on everything we buy, families are already struggling to make ends meet. In fact our city government ought to be cutting taxes to help families instead of trying to raise them.

All levels of government including our city need to manage their budgets more wisely and find ways to cut costs like every family and business has to in order to make ends meet.

Please Vote No to Proposition 2.