Just Say NO To Higher Taxes (Vote AGAINST on the ballot)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lutz, Florida, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) October 21, 2010 -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2010

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Just Say NO To Higher Taxes (Vote AGAINST on the ballot)

(Tampa, FL) – Voters in Hillsborough County will decide November 2 whether or not to allow an additional 14% sales tax increase (from 7 cents to 8 cents per dollar) which is estimated to take an additional $250 million out of the economy. It would also likely trigger a 5 cent local gas tax option increase to help pay for the proposed local rail system and other transportation projects.

Although supporters claim that it will reduce congestion, create jobs, build new houses, and be a minimal cost for a limited time, fiscal conservatives evaluate the claims based on the outcomes of similar projects all over the country.

A new rail system, new bike lanes, and sidewalks will actually increase congestion.

• Trains will have to cross roads that will create more traffic congestion.
• Many roads will not be widened for bike lanes and sidewalks, but car lanes will be narrowed, slowing down traffic and increasing smog emissions.

• Only about 2% of residents will actually ride rail according to national averages.

“Everyone will pay for rail, but less than 2% will use it,” says Karen Jaroch with NoTaxForTracks.com. “That leaves 98% of the cars on the highway with minimal increase in lane capacity planned over the next 25 years. That’s not a wise allocation of resources and it’s a recipe for future traffic snarls.”

Jobs could actually be lost or moved out of the county if the proposal is passed.

• Hillsborough would be known as the highest-taxed of 67 counties in Florida. • Residents will pay 14% more sales tax overall, which is 100% more in county add-on sales tax. (Currently, 6 cents on the dollar is paid to Tallahassee and 1 cent to Hillsborough County. An extra 1 cent would double the current county tax.)
• Many residents, especially near border counties, will shop outside Hillsborough, especially for large purchases. • Businesses and investors would be more likely to locate or relocate in other more business-friendly counties.

“Why we’re even considering a new tax now, in the worst economy in most of our lifetimes, with the unemployment and housing-foreclosures at an all time high, is beyond me,” says Conservative Businessman Brian Blair. "Rail-tax supporters claim that more houses will be built along the rail line, even though thousands of empty, foreclosed houses are not selling now."

Hillsborough residents will be charged much more than estimated and for much longer.
• Historically, everywhere that rail systems have been built, the cost has been about 40% more than estimated just for construction.
• We currently subsidize Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) over $64 million dollars and growing.

• Light rail cannot pay for itself, nor can it even pay for yearly operating costs, requiring taxpayers to hand over money to a failing system indefinitely. New Jersey’s transit system costs taxpayer over $1 billion every year; the state has recently been in the main stream news as being on the verge of bankruptcy.

“The one cent tax won’t even come close to funding light rail,” says Blair, “and it could force the County Commission to enact a 5 cent local option gas tax and more property taxes.”

Many fiscal conservatives support more effective ways to reduce congestion without breaking the bank. They believe that instead of wasting money on 19th century technology like railroad, the county should focus on the many other choices, like new and widened roads and toll roads, more effective bus routes, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), synchronized traffic lights, and staggered work hours, to name a few. Home-based employment is also rapidly on the rise.

“Taking transit to work would be even more inconvenient for most people than taking buses or carpooling so they won’t use it,” Jaroch says. “Waiting for the train sounds like going backward to me, not forward.”

Hillsborough County residents must defeat this tax, or there could be worse congestion, more lost jobs, and a much higher tax burden for decades to come.

To learn more about the proposed tax hike and what you can do to stop it, please visit http://www.notaxfortracks.com

Representatives from NoTaxForTracks.com are available for interviews. Please contact Eclectic Media Productions National PR Firm (347) 92-STARS or (347) 927-8277, Email: info@mediaproductions.tv

Hillsborough County Tax     No Tax for Tracks