Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick
I think most here would rather have an OKC with a 8.375% sales tax rate with an NBA team, and Core 2 Shore (MAPS 3) than have an OKC with 7.375% rate without all of the above things. Think if the rate had been 7.375% the last 15 years and we never would've passed MAPS or MAPS for Kids. Our city would be a dump. If you want change, you have to pay for it.
People complain about income tax, sales tax all the time. Truth is, even though some cities may have no income tax, or no taxes on groceries, or no sales tax, they're having to get their operating funds from somewhere.
Seattle didn't raise sales tax for improvements to their other sports venues, but they got it from the state instead.
I'd actually rather have higher sales taxes than other types of taxes....that way everyone pays, and there are no writeoffs for big corporations.
It all ends up being the same in the end.
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I completely disagree. Sales taxes are not progressive at all - they are
regressive. If you really wanted to put your money where your heart is then you should be campaigning for changes in the laws so OKC can install a Municipal Income Tax. I am guessing you wouldn't like that idea. The problem with funding these things with a sales tax is that a grocery cart full of groceries costs the same for Clay Bennett as it does for Patrick. The
ideal of taxation goes out the window with that fundamental unfairness. With income/expenditure ratios, the cart of groceries might have cost you 10% of your income, while that same cart would be .0000000001% of Clay Bennett's income. A tax should be progresssive for a lot of reasons. Here's a page that explains why in a very simple fashion. Take a minute and read the first few paragraphs:
Regressive, Progressive taxes/taxation explained.
The obvious conclusion is that it's not, as you said, "all the same."