Wednesday, May 16, 2007

A ?yes? means 'no new taxes'

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My wife and I, as residents of the city of Sun Valley, urge the voters of the city to support Ordinance Number 389, the "Non Property Tax Initiative" which will be on the special election ballot May 22.

The ordinance description on the cities web site is 18 pages in length. While the length is necessary to provide a legal description it also makes it easy to misinterpret. Some have told us it sounds like new taxes.

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It is our understanding that, simply stated, the ordinance will reduce sales taxes on tangible personal property from 9 percent to 8 percent. To make up the lost revenue, a 1 percent tax would apply to lift tickets sold in the city (i.e., Dollar Mountain). All other city taxes would remain unchanged. Tangible personal property "means personal property which may be seen, weighted, measured, felt, or touched, or which is in any other manner perceptible to the senses."

The intended purpose of this ordinance is to bring the city's taxes more into balance with the city of Ketchum and other cities in the valley. Currently, the sales tax rate for tangible personal property is 9 percent in Sun Valley and 7 percent in Ketchum. It is even lower in other cities in the valley. The current unbalance puts our Sun Valley retailers at a competitive disadvantage.

Please support our local merchants with a "yes" vote on May 22.

Bob Nicholson

Sun Valley