Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell just doesn't get it!!!!! - There ain't no free lunch!!!!In this article Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell is quoted as saying"it would also narrow the tax base, leaving residents to shoulder a larger share of taxes"From that quote it sounds like Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell is a sucker who believes in the following quote by Frederic Bastiat "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."I suspect that Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell would love for taxpayers in Phoenix and other cities to pay all the bills of the folks in Tempe. Sadly Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell just doesn't get it. There is no such thing as a free lunch in government. I wonder if Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell also believes in Santa Claus? Tempe Mayor Mitchell criticizes state’s construction-tax plan By Dianna M. Náñez The Republic | azcentral.com Tue Jan 8, 2013 2:15 PM Tempe is inching toward economic recovery and will continue to fare well as long as the state Legislature stays out of the way, city leaders say. “Our main principle is to preserve local authority, make sure we preserve existing state-shared revenue and preserve our local investments,” Mitchell said, adding that he hopes state representatives will support cities’ simple goals this legislative session. Mitchell is among the many Valley mayors to lash out against a legislative proposal that would change how cities collect sales taxes on construction. The change would deplete Tempe’s construction sales-tax collections, which support city funding for operations, street repairs and other quality of life services. Mitchell said it would also narrow the tax base, leaving residents to shoulder a larger share of taxes. “This is just bad economic policy,” Mitchell said. “By having a broad tax base it contributes to lower taxes for everyone. It’s going to have a huge impact on residents.” Mitchell said that cities are still living under the threat that the state Legislature may attempt to diminish municipalities’ portion of state-shared tax revenue. In Tempe, such a move would be devastating, considering the city is already preparing the June 2014 expiration of its temporary city sales-tax increase. Mitchell said that he hopes to see a move by state leaders this session to support and partner with cities because that cooperative policy would benefit the state’s efforts to improve the economy. |