Voting NO: Reduction Of Tax Rate and Modernization of Communications Users Tax Proposition S
January 23rd, 2008
Written By: Adam Sussman
Los Angeles City Special Municipal Election
Proposition S offers to reduce City’s tax on communications users from 10% to 9%; modernize the ordinance to treat taxpayers equally regardless of technology used; exempt low-income senior-citizen and disabled households; to fund general municipal servers, such as 911, police, fire protection, street maintenance, parks and libraries.
Let me tell you why I am voting no on Proposition S. It’s a sham!
The city of Los Angeles has been illegally collecting a 10% tax on cellular phone services but the courts declared it as an invalid tax and a violation of Prop 218 due to the fact the city voters never voted for it.
If people vote yes on this Proposition our tax will be lowered to 9% but then there will be an additional tax placed on many of our other electronic communications. So basically we would be paying less in tax on the current service but we would then be paying a new tax on many additional electronic communication services. So in essence it will end up costing us much more.
But that’s not all!
The real pisser about this is the trickery taking place. They are trying to pull the wool over our eyes. Currently the City is appealing the courts and if they lose then there will be no tax on any electronic communications. If they lose, we will not have to pay a tax on any of these services. They are throwing in Proposition S as a way to get us to really vote yes to secure their tax knowing full well that they are playing dirty pool.
Their logic is if they tell us it’s a reduction in taxes we will vote it in, not knowingly voting in a tax which we should have never had to pay in the first place.
I almost want to become a politician to come in and clean up scams like these but then at the end of the day I would be a politician.
Vote No and we should ask for our money back.
