The Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) is certainly making news these days. Those of us who are concerned that we must not carry the nation’s heaviest tax burden are in favor of TABOR. For those who dread the thought that they can no longer dip their fingers into our wallets anytime they want, TABOR is a nightmare.
What is TABOR? It is a way to limit the increase in government spending at all levels in your town, county and state. Increases in spending would be limited to a combination of inflation plus population growth. Notice I stated increase, not decrease in spending.
TABOR also calls for returning surpluses to us but allows for the government to keep 20 percent for a rainy day fund for emergencies. It also permits citizens to exceed the spending limit when necessary.
So what’s the big fuss all about? People all across this state are tired of hearing stories of citizens taxed right out of their homes. TABOR is a message to our elected and appointed officials that enough is enough and that we will take control of spending because they can’t fathom that idea themselves. Already Maine’s Speaker of the House has stated that TABOR will result cutbacks in education, fire, police and other services. This Chicken Little approach was used to defeat the Tax Cap of yesteryear and certainly will be used again. There’s one problem with it. TABOR does not reduce spending, it only controls the growth of spending.
During the fight for TABOR we will also hear that LD1 was the greatest piece of legislation that created property tax relief for every person in this state. By using a combination of voodoo figures and imaginary circumstances, it does appear that such tax relief occurred. I guess the uprisings in Auburn, Raymond and Standish were also imaginary. Please remember that LD1 did absolutely nothing to control the increase in your property taxes. Since LD1 did not decrease spending in this state, the funds for your tax relief were shifted from another account that was funded from your tax dollars. LD1 is nothing more than a tax shift, not tax relief.
Watch closely for all those who oppose the passage of TABOR. You will notice one thing in common and that is our money. Many groups, even non-profits, do not want their right to endless tax dollars to come to an end. It is up to you, the taxpayer, to take control of our government spending and won’t the politicians howl that local control is now gone. Wrong answer; under TABOR we will be the local control. How about that?
“Giving a politician access to your wallet is like giving a dog access to your refrigerator.” -Tim Barber
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