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May 14, 2006 | South Carolina Headlines

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Greenville schools look at 4-mill tax increase
Joe from Edisto Island writes:
4/28/2006 1:43:21 PM
"You mean like usage fees for sewage services?" - Haywood

No, not like user fees. I mean like sales tax.

User fees pay for the actual service being provided. With utility services such as public water & sewer, you are paying for the amortized cost of the infrastructure plus the cost of its repair and maintenance.

Sales taxes are charged over and above the charge for the service or product. If you have a user fee, the you could add a sales tax to the fee and have a fair system of taxing those that otherwise may have been tax exempt if the tax revenue was based on income and wealth.

Sales tax is far more fair, and upholds the privacy of the individual entity or person.

You can annonamously pay for something in cash and still pay your fair share of taxes without having to bare your sole to some bureaucratic entity in Columbia or Washington, disclosing your private affairs, earnings, assets, etc.

The vendor charging the sales tax doesn't care if you are a tax exempt church or temple or a drug dealer or a tourist, a bum or a billionaire.

The tax fairly impacts every dollar involved in that transaction without any bias from who is involved in the transaction.

[ reply| Previous in thread ]
Haywood from Greenville writes:
4/28/2006 11:54:40 AM
You mean like usage fees for sewage services? Great idea. Except the churches are exempt from stormwater fees. Imagine that.
[ reply| Previous in thread ]
Joe from Edisto Island writes:
4/28/2006 10:06:38 AM
Pissed because someone else isn't "paying their fair share"? Simple... just change the basis on which our taxes are collected. If we switched from taxing income and wealth creation to taxing consumption, every one of these churches will pay the same percentage per dollar share of taxes whenever they buy something or hire someone to perform a service.
[ reply| Previous in thread ]
Doug from Columbia writes:
4/27/2006 10:03:07 AM
Again I say, if they are "free-loaders," cut their services, obligations, and all future dealings.
[ reply| Previous in thread ]
Mike from Greenville writes:
4/27/2006 8:31:36 AM
WWIRSJD?
[ reply| Previous in thread ]
Doug from Columbia writes:
4/26/2006 8:50:50 PM
If they are "free-loaders," cut their services, obligations, and all future dealings.
[ reply| Previous in thread ]
Mike from Greenville writes:
4/26/2006 8:07:41 PM
Pam has not noticed those big ass churches that stand dormant for the most of the week while paying no propert taxes.

When will Pam and Doug complain about these holy free-loaders?

[ reply| Previous in thread ]
Haywood from Greenville writes:
4/26/2006 6:35:57 AM
"Jonathan is astute. Haywood is still a troll (this has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Bob Jones or any other private school, college or otherwise. Don't be troll bait)."

Pam I realize you're not the sharpest tool in the shed so let me explain the relevance since you're having trouble following. All organizations have to account for expenses which increase due to inflation. BJU does it by raising tuition as does every other college. Public schools have to do it by raising property taxes. If you're paying the same property taxes for the same services today that you were four years ago, then you're under paying for those services. You don't want to be a free loader like Doug do you?

"Do the math and you find *thousands* of new square feet per student, and more *thousands* of dollars in each student name. For what? What, exactly, is supposed to be accomplished with all of that?"

It's called safety Pam. It's called having buildings that are not falling apart. Not everyone wants to short change their kids by homeschooling. It really comes down to whether or not you care more about kids or your pocketbook.

[ reply| Previous in thread ]
Pam from Greenville writes:
4/26/2006 12:26:30 AM
Jonathan is astute. Haywood is still a troll (this has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Bob Jones or any other private school, college or otherwise. Don't be troll bait).

Ralph Bristol did a *great* show on this today. I hope some others here caught it. With the given facts, and a little basic math (which is taught far better in the private sector than the public), one is left asking "Excuse me?"

Do the math and you find *thousands* of new square feet per student, and more *thousands* of dollars in each student name. For what? What, exactly, is supposed to be accomplished with all of that?

This is an exercise in revenue generation at the expense of the citizens. That's all it is, and nothing more. It's not going to help out a single teacher, student or parent. It's just going to line the pockets of opportunists (elected and otherwise).

And it's starting to really piss me off.

[ reply| Previous in thread ]
Haywood from Greenville writes:
4/25/2006 4:50:31 PM
Does Bob Jones ever raise their tuition to cover inflation?
[ reply| Previous in thread ]
Mike from Greenville writes:
4/25/2006 4:11:02 PM
Or the facts of the matter?
[ reply| Previous in thread ]
Jonathan from Greenville writes:
4/25/2006 11:22:40 AM
Could it be because the reporter is basically parrotting the School Board line?
[ reply ]






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