I don’t believe the supporters of Issue 8 are telling the voting public the complete story on how much more money the average household will be paying should this issue pass. The Frequently Asked Questions regarding this issue state that the average homeowner of a $155,000 home will save $256.33 when the current emergency levy expires. We are also being told that with passage of the Earned Income Tax the average taxpayer/resident that earns $41,745 per year would be paying $24.08 per pay based on 26 bi-weekly pays in a year. Doing the math that equates to $626.08 in taxes to be paid to the school district per wage earner in a household.
If there was only one wage earner in a home, paying $626.08 per year versus $256.33 that the average property owner now pays is a significant increase of nearly 250%. But what the supporters are also not stating is that if a household has two wage earners, which is common in the majority of households today, those two wage earners at the average salary of $41,745 per year would each be paying $626.08 or a total of $1,252.16 in taxes in that household! That is nearly a 500% increase in taxes paid in that household than what that average household is paying today! I don’t believe I’ve heard supporters explain that to folks as of yet.
With this issue being earned income tax based tax based on wages versus a property tax levy based on property value, please keep in mind if your household earned income is higher than the average annual salary in the district your tax burden will increase even more. Even if it is lower than the average you likely will be paying more taxes than today. There will also be a number of households in the school district that will pay nothing since they are retired, and their pensions are exempt from an Earned Income Tax. I suggest voters think long and hard before casting their ballot on Issue 8. It seems to me this is an unfair approach to funding the school district and will not be supporting this issue!
-Michael McGing
Editor’s Note:
Having been to many of the over 40 public meetings held by the Issue 8 supporters, it has never been presented that Issue 8 is not a tax increase. Numerous presentations included examples of homes with multiple wage earners.
The example provided by Mr. McGing is misleading. With the examples used, the average wage earner living in an average home will pay an additional $369.25 per year ($626.08 for earned income MINUS A SAVINGS OF $256.33 on property taxes).
It is an undeniable fact that every property owner in the Garfield School District will receive a savings on property tax with passage of Issue 8. While the statement is true that the more a person makes the greater their contribution based on a 1.5% Earned Income Tax, but it is also undeniable that the higher the value of a person’s home the greater their contribution is with a traditional property tax. Further, with the passage of Issue 8, the higher the value of a property the more one will save in property tax.
Issue 8 does not increase taxes for retired individuals in our community.
Regardless of one’s stance on Issue 8, the supporters have been transparent, collaborative and honest in getting this community informed.
Our schools have not asked for an increase from the community in 14 years and have made significant reductions to live within their means. Our community deserves the passage of Issue 8 in order to keep our schools, community and future bright!
