“I can almost assure you that our merchants are not going to be pleased with this,” said Palmer City Man ager Bill Allen.
Wasilla Mayor Verne Rupright agreed with Allen.
 ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman A bicycle at BackCountry Bikes in Palmer is priced at $260. Add in a 3 percent city sales tax and you get $7.80 jump in price. The Mat-Su Borough is considering another 3 percent tax, which would bring the total to $275.60. |
Up in Houston, Mayor Roger Purcell is similarly opposed.
“We’re going to get taxation without representation inside the cities,” he said.
The tax, as it has been proposed, would be levied at 3 percent across the borough. But the cities already have a sales tax — 3 percent in Palmer, 2.5 percent in Wasilla, and 2 percent in Houston. The borough tax would stack on top of the city tax — essentially doubling the tax rate. The Borough Assembly is due to vote on whether to put the measure to a vote of the people Tuesday.
Cindy Bettine, represents Big Lake on the assembly and, along with Pete Houston, who represents Palmer, is sponsoring the bill. She said the sales tax is an effort to even out what’s a deep uneven taxation system.
“Right now, the majority of the local taxes that are collected are through the property tax,” Bettine said. “It is an unfair situation.”
The ordinance she’s pushing for, she said, includes a capping on property taxes at 7.8 mills. That would be a significant reduction, she said, from the current property tax levy of 10.23 mills.
“I will not support a sales tax without an areawide property tax cap,” Bettine said.
She also pointed out that the tax cap would apply to borough property taxes collected everywhere — municipal residents would get the same reduction as those outside of cities.
When she hears that cities are opposed, she said, the first question that comes to mind is, “Are you talking about what does the administrations think about it or are you talking about what do the people within the cities think about it?”
At the Borough Assembly’s March 13 meeting, the body heard from a local taxpayer who echoed much of Bettine’s sentiments.
John Nolin said he’d come to the meeting, in his words, to whine about the sticker shock he experienced when he received his property tax bill.
“I’m paying a lot of tax money now,” Nolin said. “You need to start spreading that burden out to other people.”
But the cities say they’re worried about a number of things.
First, Allen said, there’s the effect it will have on local business.
“We want people to open businesses here and be competitive and generate jobs,” Allen said. “We don’t want to be in the situation where we’re gouging the consumer.”
And he, like the two city mayors, questioned what the tax money will be used for.
“I served on that body (assembly) and it appears to me that they are well-managed, they have good liquidity, they have good cash flow, they have expansion plans,” Allen said.
On that point Bettine was clear — the tax will be used to offset property taxes, not to raise more money for the borough.
Rupright raised the question of how the taxes will be collected. The sales tax, for Wasilla, is really the city’s bread and butter. He’s worried about having to rely on the borough to hand over the cash when the city starts having to cut checks.
Purcell raised much the same issue, saying that when flooding hit the borough in 2006, Houston was late in getting its share of property tax revenue.
“I’m sorry that they had a flood but we’ve still got a city run,” Purcell said.
Both Purcell and Rupright said they’d be on board with a sales tax that was levied everywhere but inside the cities. In explaining why, Purcell brought up a gripe somewhat common in his neck of the borough.
“Seeing as how the borough doesn’t provide any functions other than schools inside the cities, they should exempt the cities.”
But, Bettine said, the tax simply won’t work if it was implemented that way.
“It’s dead in the water if we did that. That’s the way I see it,” Bettine said. “You wouldn’t be able to cap the mill rate if we did that.”
And she doesn’t see a reason to. Borough residents from outside the city shop in Wasilla and Palmer all the time and it’s fair that their areas benefit from a portion of the taxes they pay. Tourists and visitors passing through on the Glenn and Parks highways utilize a lot of borough services but don’t pay for them. A sales tax would be a way to capture some of the money those folks spend.
Plus, the cities benefit from lots of borough services, she said. Just this year, she said the bulk of the borough lobbying efforts have been directed at the cities. The borough’s top lobby priority has been obtaining state matching funds for a raft of road projects, most of them inside either Palmer or Wasilla.
“We’re all in this together,” she said.
And, she said, really all they’re doing is putting it to a vote.
“I’m getting a lot of e-mails that are for and against my idea,” she said. “It’s about even right now. It’s a toss up, really.”
Comments
48 comment(s)ripped off wrote on Apr 19, 2009 10:01 AM:
jp wrote on Apr 8, 2009 7:39 AM:
Then they'll give themselves a raise for doing such a good job.
why do they get to decide when they get raises anyway? "
Good Idea wrote on Apr 7, 2009 10:20 AM:
Peanut Santiago wrote on Apr 5, 2009 11:55 PM:
jp wrote on Apr 2, 2009 9:11 PM:
keep pushing, you're about there, really! "
broke wrote on Apr 2, 2009 11:51 AM:
Jokes On You wrote on Apr 2, 2009 12:18 AM:
How do you turn a $180,000 house into a $240,000 house?
Answer: Pass a 3% Borough Sales Tax with a 7.8 mil rate. "
Dave wrote on Apr 1, 2009 11:00 PM:
greg kgb wrote on Apr 1, 2009 5:39 PM:
Poor Assembly wrote on Apr 1, 2009 10:13 AM:
TEA TIME wrote on Apr 1, 2009 10:11 AM:
Dont be stupid wrote on Apr 1, 2009 1:07 AM:
Duffy isn't a leader, he's not looking out for you an I-- eExpecially if you don't live in Palmer.
Bread and Butter folks . . . it's what's for dinner.
Palmer shopped in Wasilla when there wasn't a Wasilla Tax- I can remember that. Go figure. . . we'll be heading to Anchorage to shop.
MSB= oxymoron. "
jp wrote on Mar 31, 2009 11:16 AM:
Larry Wood wrote on Mar 31, 2009 10:28 AM:
Giving the Borough more money without accountability is insane. Gov't is not a good steward of our money.
Why do we continue to pay a property tax that holds our property hostage forever? One never owns the property, the Borough does.
A sales tax is a user tax and is fair and equitable.
One or the other, but not both. "
TTOSBT wrote on Mar 30, 2009 9:32 PM:
BigLake13 wrote on Mar 30, 2009 11:38 AM:
It is getting to the point that "My take home pay will not take me home."
' "
Fools again wrote on Mar 29, 2009 6:51 PM:
A Viable Solution wrote on Mar 29, 2009 3:36 PM:
to Grizbr wrote on Mar 29, 2009 3:04 PM:
Grizbr wrote on Mar 29, 2009 8:39 AM:
Please stop the Madness wrote on Mar 29, 2009 8:01 AM:
I know it is easier to add revenue than cut a program or a position we cannot afford, but now is not the time to reduce the buying power of everyone's dollar. Our dollars are getting harder to earn as it is, especially for young families just getting started. They need disposable income not more programs. Revenue comes with growth, don't stymie it. "
to tisalaska wrote on Mar 28, 2009 8:31 PM:
Figure it out wrote on Mar 28, 2009 8:20 PM:
To Fools.... wrote on Mar 28, 2009 1:45 PM:
jp wrote on Mar 28, 2009 1:39 PM:
I personally have seen the borough employees "in action" hard at "trying not to work" I think most of the borough business could be done in a reduced manpower environment. Let's say reduce the number of borough employees by 20% if they fall behind, replace the ones that are at fault, if they sustain performance levels, then perhaps a raise is in order, still saves $ "
Fools wrote on Mar 28, 2009 10:58 AM:
Parks wrote on Mar 28, 2009 10:53 AM:
tisalaska wrote on Mar 28, 2009 10:09 AM:
jp wrote on Mar 28, 2009 10:08 AM:
jp wrote on Mar 28, 2009 10:07 AM:
Voter and Tax Payer wrote on Mar 28, 2009 9:24 AM:
Observer wrote on Mar 28, 2009 9:05 AM:
Palmer Voter wrote on Mar 27, 2009 8:40 PM:
Yes Ed wrote on Mar 27, 2009 7:04 PM:
tisalaska wrote on Mar 27, 2009 6:48 PM:
Ed Manning II wrote on Mar 27, 2009 2:54 PM:
The Borough needs to cut their spending. Therein, lies the problem. "
For Petes Sake - YES wrote on Mar 27, 2009 2:40 PM:
Alaska Nana wrote on Mar 27, 2009 1:52 PM:
NO more taxes 2 wrote on Mar 27, 2009 11:50 AM:
Questionable wrote on Mar 27, 2009 10:06 AM:
tisalaska wrote on Mar 27, 2009 9:34 AM:
jp wrote on Mar 27, 2009 8:36 AM:
Let's see if we can vote them a pay reduction, or just vote them out.
It's time to make these elected ones do what we elected them to do.
has any one of them ever came to you and asked your opinion on something?
they are out of touch with reality. "
Which mils wrote on Mar 27, 2009 8:29 AM:
Read My Lips wrote on Mar 27, 2009 8:29 AM:
It's way past time to hold these criminals accountable! It's also time to limit these morons to a one term limit! It's way past time we take our country back! IT'S TEA TIME!!!!! "
Bert wrote on Mar 27, 2009 8:12 AM:
alaskamountainman wrote on Mar 27, 2009 7:08 AM:
Goodbye Bettine wrote on Mar 27, 2009 5:41 AM:
NO WAY... wrote on Mar 26, 2009 9:12 PM: