Reply to MoCo looking at increasing income taxes for those making above $150K

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[quote=Anonymous]The income tax increase effectively begins at around $600k of taxpayer income because the 0.1% increase at the top bracket first has to erode the much larger decreases getting up to that $150k.  Pretty basic math.  Because of this, there will be a [i]decrease[/i] in income tax collection overall -- the extra 0.1% times the amount of taxpayer income [i]above[/i] that $600k across all taxpayers lucky enough to be making that much will not nearly make up for the total effective decreases for everyone else.

Such a tax cut without [i]first[/i] identifying the financial needs of county programs leads to the higgeldy-piggeldy approach to cuts we've seen.  Much better would have been to agree on funding needs and then set the tax rates to support [i]that[/i].  Whether that, in this case, meant an increase to property tax rates, a less aggressive progressive cutting of income taxes or something else, the [i]broader MoCo community[/i] would have benefitted from greater certainty about services, if not better services, themselves.

The elimination of the $692 ITOC, while it may be progressive in concept (ITOC beneficiaries, for the much greater part, are relatively well off, both in being homeowners and in being financially well versed enough to have applied for it), shifts the relative tax burden from owners who do not reside in the properties they own, [i]including those who live outside the county entirely[/i] to owner-occupants (MoCo residents by definition).  The measure of its elimination also did not provide relative cushion to those receiving ITOC who [i]might not[/i] be well off, acting as more of a cudgel than a scalpel.

The way these, both the overall budgetary approach that saw the aggressive tax bracketing relative to status quo and the ITOC elimination, played out, it seems that interests not well aligned with the needs and will of the community exert great influence across the County Council.  While one can point to certain Councilmembers as having offered alternatives and others as more clearly leading the charge, it only takes looking at their records in all kinds of issues over the past two years (or more) with structural budget impacts to get the picture that the whole lot basically are so beholden.

Those offered alternatives?  Window dressing for campaign positioning, either present or future, offered for show and knowing they would not carry.  None of the leg work that would have been needed to get to real compromise (from the citizenry's perspective) was done...and they knew that going in.  Very similar to past votes where one or a few might peel off, but never enough to stop passage of a measure or to keep from a veto override.[/quote]

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