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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

TEA PARTY
TODAY, MORE
TAXES
TOMORROW

If you live in Montgomery County or in the state of Maryland, you are an expert on high taxes. Here we have the 5th highest taxes in America to start with, and then the county takes even more.

It's about to get a lot worse. President Obama and the Democratic Congress are preparing to raise taxes to historic levels. Our state and county have raised fees, and want to add $9-20 a month to your WSSC bill. Comcast and PEPCO bills are at an all-time high.

Despite the Washington Post's Democrat Protection Program coverage of county government, the truth is that most homeowners are being hit with a property tax increase this year. That's right, an increase. On top of our already immoral, draconian property taxes after years of one-party, Democrat-monopoly rule.

Here are some more taxes in the works, and it's likely you're not even aware of them:

Parking Tax - Councilmember Nancy Floreen's $250(!!) "Parking Tax" is back in the form of a proposal to increase parking costs to $1 an hour. Councilmember Floreen can't think of a better way to help business owners in Bethesda, than to increase parking costs to Orwellian heights. But just watch as the local chambers of commerce support Ms. Floreen in the 2010 election. Why? Because those local chambers are currently tools of the Democratic Party.

Richard Madeleno Internet Sales Tax - Temporarily on hold in Annapolis, but you should know that Sen. Madeleno attempted to charge you a sales tax (6%) on many internet purchases you currently receive tax-free.

Our elected officials never met a tax-increase they didn't like. I can hear the wallet vacuums firing up as I type.

Don't be confused by the ideological madness pushed by the liberal media: you've heard people like Michael Kinsley and E.J. Dionne claim that wealth is mysteriously just produced by America. And that that wealth needs to be distributed more equitably.

The truth is that individuals create that wealth. If you shut down their businesses and discourage free enterprise, you reduce the amount of wealth created - and the jobs that result. Government rules don't create wealth or jobs; Americans do.

The socialist model has been discredited everywhere in the world.

What will get this economy going again is more money in the hands of the citizen, not government.

I'll leave you with perhaps the greatest quote about taxes since the Revolutionary War:

"If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it."
- President Ronald Reagan
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2 comments:

  1. Councilmember Nancy Floreen12:01 PM

    I have not proposed any increases in parking taxes or fees. There seems to be some confusion here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Robert Dyer2:14 AM

    Councilmember Floreen,

    Thanks for your comment.

    I'm not in the business of making things up, and if there is any confusion, it is not on my part.

    Here is the $250 Parking Tax you proposed:

    http://www.gazette.net/stories/09102008/montnew184909_32470.shtml

    The headline states, "Floreen Proposes Tax on Parking Spaces."

    Here are some excerpts from the article:

    "A proposal to charge a $250 per space parking fee..."

    "Councilwoman Nancy M. Floreen has floated the idea to the county's chambers, civic and environmental groups..."

    "'If we are committed to addressing climate change needs and addressing transportation infrastructure needs, we clearly need to look at ways for reliable source funding for transit,' said Floreen (D-At large) of Garrett Park."

    "'The timing of something like this is not good,' said Bruce H. Lee, president of Lee Development Group in Silver Spring...That's a lot each year that we would have to find. That would kill us,' he said. Lee estimated the company would have to pay almost $55,000 each year in excise taxes for its 220 hourly and monthly parking spaces. The extra cost would be the equivalent of doubling the property tax that the company pays for the property, Lee estimated."
    ---------

    Of course, that tax did not become law. Basic economics tells us that the cost would ultimately have been paid by the customer in the form of higher prices.

    But, as I wrote, the new council staff proposal on parking fees retains the "get more money out of residents through a parking tax/fee" spirit of the original tax you proposed.

    Again, this is a real "fee" tax under consideration by the council. Here is the proof for anyone who does not take my word for it:

    http://www.gazette.net/stories/04082009/nortnew201134_32487.shtml

    It mentions the 25 cent per hour increase I wrote about in my blog entry. $1 = 1 hour of short term parking.

    So these tax proposals are real, and in my opinion, show a disconnect between the county council and the financial difficulties most county residents are currently suffering.

    ReplyDelete