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BY GREG WALTERS

A Taxing Question

OUR RESPONSE TO AN
ANONYMOUS BLOGGER 

About once a week we receive a post from an anonymous blogger who makes it their business to complain bitterly about the what they call an "anti-tax attitude" in Raytown. In his last missive he wrote:

      Anonymous said . . .

“You all crack me up! Your anti-tax attitude is killing this this city but you all don’t see it. You can’t pay bills in 2018 and beyond based on 80’s and 90’s tax rates. So what are you going to do when the city can no longer pay their bills? Because that time is coming based on the current economic situation.”

We wondered if the post was, in a word, accurate. So we did some fact checking on revenue resources for the City of Raytown. What we found will probably surprise most of our readers.

Nearly all of Raytown’s taxes are tied to inflation.

The following is a short list of Raytown’s major income producing taxes. All of these taxes are based on the dollar amount spent on the product that is taxed. As the cost of the product  goes up, so does the amount of tax paid.

FRANCHISE TAXES

Natural Gas       Based on dollar amount (tied to inflation)

Electricity           Based on dollar amount (tied to inflation)

Telephone          Based on dollar amount (tied to inflation)

Cell Phone         Based on dollar amount (tied to inflation)

Internet               Based on dollar amount (tied to inflation)

SALES TAXES

All sales taxes    Based on dollar amount (tied to inflation)

PROPERTY TAXES (personal and real estate)

Property tax valuations are reviewed by Jackson County every two years. The property value is tied to inflation.

The only tax we were able to find not tied to inflation is the gasoline tax. It is based on a per gallon basis.

Based on the facts above, someone is trying to sell a false narrative. The fact is nearly all of Raytown's taxes are based on dollar amount sold. That means the taxes are keeping right in step with inflation.

Election Endorsements . . .

The November 6^th General Election will be upon us in a little over ten days. Depending on your point of view, this election will be a pivotal one for our nation and Missouri. Here is a list of our choices in a few of those races and issues. Please remember to vote.

FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE – DISTRICT 28

Jerome Barnes

FOR UNITED STATES SENATE

Josh Hawley

There are four Amendments and four Propositions on the state wide ballot. We have separated three of those issues, all having to do with the legalization of marijuana for medicinal use. The marijuana issues follow the other ballot questions. 

Amendment 1 . . . . VOTE NO

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT LINES

The Legislative and Senatorial Districts in Missouri are re-drawn every ten years to guarantee each District is balanced as to population. In many states the re-drawing of District lines is often mired in legal challenges and accusations of gerrymandering and favoritism.

That may be true in other states. But it is not so in Missouri. The current system used in Missouri to draw District lines is fair and balanced.

Someone once said, “If it is not broken, do not try to fix it”.

Good advice. Vote no on Amendment 1. 

Amendment 4 . . . . VOTE YES

CHANGES TO BINGO LICENSING 

Amendment 4 would allow a few minor changes to the rules governing the operation of Bingo Parlors in Missouri. Two changes are suggested here. 

• Remove language limiting bingo game advertising that a court ruled unenforceable.

• Allow a member of a licensed organization conducting bingo games to participate in the management of bingo games after being a member of the organization for six months instead of the current two years.

These minor changes will open up the operation of what many people view as a social and  recreational activity. In its own way, allowing advertising of such operations may help boost the local economy in some areas. 

Proposition B . . . . VOTE YES

MINIMUM WAGE 

Proposition B sets minimum wage standards through 2023. The current minimum wage would be set at $8.60 per hour with .85 cents per hour each year until capped at $12 per hour in 2023.

The schedule of increases follows:

• $8.60 per hour beginning January 1, 2019
• $9.45 per hour beginning January 1, 2020
• $10.30 per hour beginning January 1, 2021
• $11.15 per hour beginning January 1, 2022
• $12.00 per hour beginning January 1, 2023

Proposition D . . . . VOTE NO

GASOLINE TAX

Proposition D would raise the tax incrementally through 2022 to a total of .27 cents per gallon. The current gasoline tax in Missouri is .17 cents per gallon.

The schedule of increases follows:

• Nineteen and one-half (19.5) cents per gallon beginning July 1, 2019;
• Twenty-two (22) cents per gallon beginning July 1, 2020;
• Twenty-four and one-half (24.5) cents per gallon beginning July 1, 2021;
• Twenty-seven (27) cents per gallon beginning July 1, 2022.

Everyone wants to improve our highways and bridges in Missouri. But these hefty tax increases will put too heavy a burden on Missouri motorists

A “no” vote is in order on Proposition D.

MEDICINAL MARIJUANA VOTE NO 

AMENDMENT 2 AND 3 / PROPOSITION C 

The legalization of medicinal marijuana is an emotional issue. We are well aware of people who use marijuana to help ease suffering due to a number of ailments.

But what is being proposed in Amendments 2 and 3, and in Proposition C is about more than allowing the sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes to the public.

It is the legitimization of setting up an industry that only has one direction to go. And that direction is the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana.

In our research we came across an article in which Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott wrote: “I am going to wait to see if the law passes before making any considerations regarding what to do."

Arnott said he was alarmed by what he had heard from a colleague in Colorado, where the legalization of medicinal marijuana was enacted nearly two decades ago and where recreational cannabis was approved in 2012.

"I definitely have concerns over the entire marijuana issue," he said in an email. "I have had the pleasure of listening and conversing with a Sheriff from Colorado over what has happened to his County after the laws progressed from medical to growing etc. The Sheriff stated it destroyed the county and overburdened their criminal justice system with a whole host of issues. I am just waiting as is everyone to see what transpires in November."

The three proposals before the voters have one thing in common. If passed, each proposal is opening of the door to what is estimated to be a 10 million dollar industry in Missouri.

One wonders why, if the purpose is to treat marijuana as a drug, why not distribute it the way other controlled drugs are in Missouri . . . through a licensed pharmacy?

For example, cocaine is a controlled substance. It is used in some medical procedures. But it has not been necessary to set up the convoluted structure and bureaucratic machinery to distribute it (cocaine) outside the norms of regular pharmaceutical distribution.

We support the use of any kind of therapy that helps ease the pain of people suffering from chronic illnesses.

But what has been laid out by petitioners is a thinly disguised attempt to set the groundwork for the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. For instance, Proposition C calls for the legalization of home grown marijuana. We have yet to find anyone who can say how homegrown weed has any medicinal value.

All three of the proposals are flawed. Our Legislators and Senators in Jefferson City can do much better. The only way to receive better results is to let our representatives know they must try again.

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