Hypocrites Against Tax Equity

Glenn Richardson wants to put a constitutional amendment (HR 900) on the ballot that allows the state to tax your child's haircut, his daycare, his doctor's appointment and his trip to the dentist. But he's okay with that because Glenn and his rich friends, along with large, multi-state corporations, will make out like bandits. Now does that sound "fair" to you?

Rep. Glenn Richardson is loading his gun, ready to take another shot at middle class families in Georgia. His "GREAT" plan to eliminate all property taxes in Georgia, in favor of higher sales tax and new taxes on services, will put the screws to working families in Georgia who are already struggling to make ends meet. But Glenn doesn't care about these families. He proved that during the last session when he worked to limit their access to basic health insurance for their children. Glenn wants you to think that this tax disaster is about helping homeowners, but the facts just don't support that claim. He does care about his Big Development buddies and the large multi-state corporations this plan will benefit. Consider this:

• Georgia's total land area is 37,068,000 acres.
• Of that, 65% is forested. We have more forested acres than any other state, 23,631,000 acres.
• In 2002, of that, about three quarters of a million acres are in national forests, and about 900,000 acres are private.
• Of the remainder, nearly five million acres are owned by the Forest Industry, and about seventeen million acres are owned by farmers or private land owners.
• One company alone, Plum Creek Timber, the largest private landowner in the country, owns nearly 850,000 acres.
• You might want to check Plum Creek's "Political Accountability Record" and learn more about REIT's.

Many Georgia families do not own their homes. According to the University of Georgia's Initiative on Poverty and the Economy, only 67.50% of Georgians own their homes, only 58.80% of those in Bibb County own their own homes. Why is the number lower in Bibb? Because we have higher poverty. People who have money are more likely to own property.

My point? There are a whole lot of people in Georgia who will not benefit directly from the elimination of property taxes. The increase in sales tax, along with the imposition of a brand new tax on services could constitute a substantial tax increase on middle class, working families and the poor. Sales taxes are considered "regressive" by respected economists and shift more of the tax burden to poor and middle class families.

The short story? If you're a large, multi-state corporation, you might think this is GREAT, but if you are an everyday working person, struggling to pay the bills, you're going to HATE this bill.

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