Tax increases should benefit all of the people who pay them

It seems that the vote for the A-B Tech sales-tax increase is occurring at the proper time: when fog and cobwebs cloud our vision [“School or Scandal?” Oct. 19 Xpress]. Is it really the average county resident’s duty to provide money for the school to repair "crumbling staircases" and sidewalks on campus?

Are we really being asked to pay this tax increase, which supporters say will increase jobs, to create larger classes that in turn produce more trained students to be displaced into an already slumping economy with too few jobs for the current workforce? I see a tax increase to repair the streets I use to walk to work day and night as far more important than a staircase on a campus I never set foot on.

I think a tax to provide a better transit system for the masses to allow them access to more areas of the city, day and night, and on Sundays, is far more beneficial than repairing "leaking roofs" and "insufficient parking" to buildings and lots the vast majority of us have no chances to use. And to "spread the cost to the people who are visiting"? That is just low. Why not just stand out by the local trolleys with a cup and ask for spare change? Trying to pull the wool over the visitors who grace us with their annual trips is bad enough, but to also attempt to fool the residents out of their precious and hard-earned pennies? That is just unacceptable.

— Jeremy W. Huttunen
Asheville

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6 thoughts on “Tax increases should benefit all of the people who pay them

  1. travelah

    Who better to pay for education and it’s facilities than the local communities served by those facilities?

  2. chops

    It will benefit all.

    Just like a court system benefits all (even if you don’t personally ever use it!) — a better quality, more affordable education for others in your community will indirectly benefit you!

    Considering that we all share health-care costs, environmental costs, and other costs in our daily lives that are affected by education in the whole community… you may actually benefit more than you pay!

  3. kanda

    What amazes me most about Asheville is our taxes are already higher than sales and state taxes in New York State while our services are well below NY services. In addition we have excise taxes annually on everything from vehicles manufatured housing. What leads anyone to assume that increasing taxes will improve things for A’ville? The real shames is NC is among the 10 poorest states in America. Perhaps the real issue is spending is outpacing revenue. All levels of government in NC should have 0 deficit budgets. We only need what we can afford. The same goes for schools. Get the federal government out of out NC education system. Then we can educate our children properly the way God intended.

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