I read the Post Dispatch Sunday Paper today, ad's and all.
Boy now that's a big deal, so what? Well the "so what" can be rather interesting if you take a look at the retail ad's in THIS WEEKS Sunday paper!
The shopkeepers who are advertising this week all have the same theme, "BACK TO SCHOOL" with deep discounts to bring in the public to stock up now!
Here we are in July, the ad's are "back to school," and we have a scheduled "Back to school retail tax holiday" scheduled for August, 2008? Other than the fact that our timing is impeccable as usual, will the shoppers we end up with have any money to spend after the "big sales?" You know that to get the customers in this will be the theme from now on, so why, oh why, did we do this?
I have no idea in the world folks, but I do know we could have used that extra money for something. Reflecting on this "revoltin development," I would score this one, BOA 6, Mayor (and remaining BOA) 3. But the power of a veto, used properly (when you have the votes) trumps all else, so here we go again!
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself" (Franklin Deleno Roosevelt,) and you know what? I am getting worried, and nothing scares me!
Tom Ford
NO.525
The shopkeepers who are advertising this week all have the same theme, "BACK TO SCHOOL" with deep discounts to bring in the public to stock up now!
Here we are in July, the ad's are "back to school," and we have a scheduled "Back to school retail tax holiday" scheduled for August, 2008? Other than the fact that our timing is impeccable as usual, will the shoppers we end up with have any money to spend after the "big sales?" You know that to get the customers in this will be the theme from now on, so why, oh why, did we do this?
I have no idea in the world folks, but I do know we could have used that extra money for something. Reflecting on this "revoltin development," I would score this one, BOA 6, Mayor (and remaining BOA) 3. But the power of a veto, used properly (when you have the votes) trumps all else, so here we go again!
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself" (Franklin Deleno Roosevelt,) and you know what? I am getting worried, and nothing scares me!
Tom Ford
NO.525
posted by Crestwood Independent at 15:43
35 Comments:
Regarding the upcoming sales tax holiday:
from http://www.taxfoundation.org/blog/show/988.html
"The Case Against Sales Tax Holidays
by Curtis S. Dubay
It is back to school time, which means among other things, it's sales tax holiday season. From CNN money:
'While many students shudder at the onset of the back-to-school season, parents have reason to smile, as it signals the start of the tax holidays.
In the coming weeks, 11 states and the District of Columbia will offer periods of sales tax exemptions. Those few days of tax freedom mean consumers can save a few bucks on everything from clothing and footwear to school supplies and computers.'
The following states (and the District of Columbia) are granting sales tax holidays this year: Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. Other states plan to follow suit as well in coming years.
Is it possible that a gimmick which lowers taxes is actually poor tax policy? Economically speaking sales tax holidays are poor tax policy for two main reasons.
First, sales tax holidays are distortionary because they are non-neutral across products. This means that consumers have an incentive to buy products which fall under the sales tax holiday as opposed to goods that are not covered in the holiday.
Second, sales tax holidays are non-neutral over time, which means that they create incentives for consumers to purchase items during the sales tax holiday that they otherwise would have purchased at another time.
Additionally, sales tax holidays add to retailers' compliance costs and make the tax code less stable. Although sales tax holidays are good for certain consumers of certain products, they are poor tax policy overall."
Regarding sales tax rates (note that Crestwood has one of the highest sales tax rates in St. Louis County):
from http://www.taxfoundation.org/blog/show/998.html
"New Hampshire’s 365-Day Sales Tax Holiday
by Alicia Hansen
Throughout August, Massachusetts parents and children will stock up on notebooks, clothes, and backpacks in preparation for a new school year. Many of them will confine their back-to-school shopping to August 13 and 14, since those days are “tax holidays” in Massachusetts, which means all purchases under $2,500 are exempt from the state's 5 percent sales tax.
This year Massachusetts joins ten other states and the District of Columbia in providing sales tax holidays (click here for a chart of each state’s exempt items and other details).
But now it seems Massachusetts might be upstaged by its neighbor to the north. According to the New Hampshire Union Leader, New Hampshire Governor John Lynch has announced a new advertising campaign targeted at Massachusetts residents. New Hampshire will spend approximately $40,000 to run an ad in the Boston Globe on August 7, 10, and 11, proclaiming, “365 vs. 002 . . . Tax-Free Shopping Days (for those of you keeping score)."
New Hampshire is one of only five states without a sales tax and is therefore a popular destination for shoppers from neighboring states, especially those living near the border. Gov. Lynch is keenly aware of the lure of tax-free shopping:
"There is no need for shoppers to pack all of their shopping into two days during a beautiful summer weekend, when every day is a sales tax holiday in New Hampshire," Lynch said.
Alice DeSouza, director of the state's Division of Travel and Tourism Development, told onlookers the state annually welcomes about 27 million visitors. The link between the Granite State's permanent tax holiday and tourism is "significant," she said.
Tax holidays are popular with consumers, but if a state wants to bring in more non-resident shoppers, improve its economy, or give taxpayers a break, a better solution is a consistently low sales tax rate–-or none at all—rather than a one- or two-day tax holiday."
http://www.itepnet.org/pb17hol.pdf
"Sales Tax Holidays: Boon or Boondoggle?
...A one-week sales tax holiday for selected items still imposes a burden on low income taxpayers when they purchase these items in the other fifty-one weeks of
the year. In the long run, sales tax holidays leave a regressive tax system basically unchanged.
Sales tax exemptions create administrative difficulties for state governments, and for the retailers who must collect the tax. For examples, exempting groceries requires a sheaf of government regulations to police the border between nontaxable
groceries and taxable snack food. A temporary exemption for clothing (or for any other back-to-school item) requires retailers and tax administrators to wade through a similar quantity of red tape for an exemption that lasts only a few days.
If the goal is to provide tax relief to the low-income families for whom sales taxes are most burdensome, sales tax holidays are poorly targeted, providing tax breaks to even the wealthiest taxpayers. In addition, the
benefits of sales tax holidays are
not limited to state residents, but also extend to consumers visiting from other states. For states struggling with continuing budget deficits, sales tax holidays
offer less “bang for the buck” than more targeted tax breaks such as low-income sales tax credits (described in ITEP Policy Brief #14).
Many low-income taxpayers spend most or all of their income just getting by—which means that they have less disposable income than wealthier taxpayers. These
taxpayers may not have the luxury of shifting the timing of their consumption to coincide with week-long sales tax holidays. By contrast, wealthier taxpayers are
more likely to be able to time their purchases to coincide with the sales tax holiday without throwing their finances out of kilter.
Retailers know that many consumers will shift their spending toward sales tax holidays to take advantage of the temporary tax exemption. Unscrupulous retailers
can take advantage of this shift in consumer behavior by increasing their prices (or failing to reduce them by the full amount of the sales tax break) during the tax holiday. There is some evidence that Florida retailers did exactly that during a recent sales tax holiday there: one study found that up to 20 percent of the
potential benefits from that state’s sales tax holiday were reclaimed by retailers in
the form of higher prices.
Perhaps most important for cash-strapped lawmakers, sales tax holidays are costly. Revenue lost through sales tax holidays will ultimately have to be made up
somewhere else, either through painful spending cuts or increasing other taxes.
If the long-term consequence of sales tax holidays is a higher sales tax rate, low income
taxpayers may ultimately be worse off as a result of these tax breaks."
Regarding sales tax rates (note that Crestwood has one of the highest sales tax rates in St. Louis County):
No higher than Ricmond Heights, Maplewood, Brentwood, Webster Groves, Shrewsbury, Des Peres. Almost any city that as any kind of retail and fire department has the same sales tax rate as Crestwood.
But, however it does have one of the LOWEST PROPERTY TAXES that includes fire\EMS service. Lower than Sunset Hills, Kirkwood, Webster etc.
The following municipalities have no property tax levy (taken from St. Louis County's website):
BALLWIN
BELLA VILLA
CHAMP
DES PERES
FENTON
FLORISSANT
GREEN PARK
MARYLAND HEIGHTS
MOLINE ACRES
NORWOOD COURT
TOWN & COUNTRY
WILBUR PARK
WILDWOOD
Poster 11:20AM...
Please list what each of the cities you identified pay for their fire protection districts in property tax levy. Des Peres and Town Country can be excluded because they have or pay for their own fire protection.
I bet in each case it is substantially more than Crestwood Residents pay. I'll give you an example... A Ballwin Resident pays $.89/per $100 to the MetroWest Fire District. That's a bargin compared to the $1.11/per $100 that a resident of Florissant pays to the Florissant Valley Fire District.
Don't forget our Mayor said there was not a need for a tax increase that other cuts could be made. We are reported to have over $3 million in cash reserves, we are taking a sales tax holiday, and the BOA with out the Mayor vetoing, retroactive pay raises for Police officers.
We don't need the increase and I could care less what other cities are charging, I live in Crestwood.
Don't forget, one letter to the editor writer, (I believe it was the head of the economic development commission) said that Robinson brought Crestwood back. If Crestwood is back, why do we need a tax increase?
We don't need a tax increase, or at least they haven't proven to me that they need one. If fact I'm not sure they any longer want to stand behind their claim there was a need in the 1st place.
5:09 PM blogger: Be very careful my friend that you do not fall on the wrong side on the "Citizens for prop 1" group, else you not be invited to ?
Regardless of what Ward you live in you are welcome to come to one of their meetings so they can "re-educate" you in the proper behavior and line of thinking!
The next meeting will be at City Hall at 7:00PM on Tuesday for Ward Two. After the last pow wow at the community center (paid for by them, so they say.) This will be the first on PUBLIC PROPERTY, using PUBLIC funding (where is the copy of the check to pay for this?) for a roof, lights, air conditioning, ETC.
Come to think of it, a reverse 911 system was used, as well as a (double?) printing of the Crestwood newsletter to promote these meetings that can only be called one sided at best!
I wonder if this is Kosher for a City to spend tax monies to "educate" me on a subject that I already am familiar with (and against,) without both sides being represented on the Dias? However, I digress!
Please come to the meeting and learn all you can about just where our finances are being spent and why, I think it will amaze you.
This may be your only chance to see Crestwood's adaptation of a recent movie "BrokeP.A.C. mountain you will ever have!
Tom Ford
4:05,4:13,5:09
Same person wrote all 3 posts. guess they had more to say and felt 3 posts would make it look like 3 different people posted.
Nice try. It has been said that "people who live in glass houses should move"
Tom,
Why don't you get a life? What do you mean "paid for them so they say", and "where is the copy of the check to to pay for this". Let me ask you the same question.
Where and when did Mr. Murphy and Mrs. Duchild file their papers and did they pay any money to speak their peace at a meeting organized by a group of citizens simply providing publicly available information?
You weren't even there yet you talk like you were sitting in the front row. Your constant criticism of the city and it's elected officials is the work of a seriously challenged person. Don't you realize that the information you spew here is nothing more than he said she said. Better referred to as hear say and you have no credibility.
6:12 PM - You are wrong on a couple of points. I live in a brick and frame house. I don't like to clean windows so I would not want to live in a glass house. Furthermore, I'm not going to move. And I wrote the 4:13 post but did not write the other posts.
Nice try for you. At least you are consistent. You were wrong on all of your points.
6:23 PM, July 21, 2008
By the way, from your post, can we assume that if we speak our mind or are critical of the city, we are "seriously challenged"? Well, there goes democracy straight out the window!
6:23 PM blogger: yes I am "challenged," I am challenged by the fact that you seem to think you are the "alpha and Omega of Crestwood! Well, your not!
Show me (and others here) a copy of your check for payment, plain and simple! You say you paid for the room, well show us! While your at it, show us the payment for the rest of the rooms(scan them in!)
This is still America, still the America I grew up in, and I will be darned if I will let a blowhard like you tell any of us in this community how, and when to say anything!
The people you mentioned never filed for anything, you did, so where is the proof that you did what you said you did?
Tom Ford
6:43 PM blogger: Not as long as I am still alive my friend! These "people" who spout this idiocy will be called to account, and I will do it!
By their actions they have shown themselves to be despicable, plain and simple! Insult the opposition, attempt to "belittle them," call them names! COWARDS, plain and simple!
Tom Ford
6:23 PM June 21st
Are those who plan to attend the meetings required to file papers?
I live in Ward 3, therefore I attended the meeting for Ward 3 residents. The stated purpose of the meeting was education, and those in attendance were invited to ask questions, which I did. No one said that a payment was required to ask these questions.
I fail to comprehend how this group or its representatives could possibly believe that no one would question the information they presented. As I said before, they have a product to sell and they are selling it. This is not an education, it's a promotion. If it were an education, both sides of the issue would have been represented in the presentation.
Martha Duchild
We don't need the increase and I could care less what other cities are charging, I live in Crestwood.......AND want everybody else to pay fore my fire/ems, police protection, parks and streets!
not quite ... we pay utility taxes, property taxes, and sales taxes too
I live in Crestwood and I want to see our elected officals make the cuts they said could be made instead of increased spending.
I live in Crestwood and find it hard to believe the avg income of a citizen is half what we pay our avg police officer and fire fighter and we are being told we need to pay more in taxes to keep them.
I don't quite understand what all the irritation is about. We as citizens of Crestwood are expected to pay for the services we receive. Is there anyone here unhappy with their Fire department? Police department? Snow Removal? Parks? Who should we as citizens expect to pay for those services? I think people should state their expectations here and I don't mean additional cuts to our services but rather suggestions on where the money is expected to come from. If we replace our fire dept how much will it cost? If we replace our police dep. how much will it cost? Should we close our parks? Hire someone else to Plow our streets? how much will that cost? Maybe someone here has those answers.
Or how about the workers of Crestwood taking a pay cut instead of a reduction in the numbers who are employed? What the heck is wrong with that idea?
Why is it always a cut in the number or workers if we don't get a tax increase instead of a roll back in wages?
It seems that GOVT. never takes a pay cut but the tax payer who floats the govt can always afford to pay more for the same services.
".....I live in Crestwood and find it hard to believe the avg income of a citizen is half what we pay our avg police officer and fire fighter and we are being told we need to pay more in taxes to keep them.
7:38 AM, July 22, 2008..."
2005 median annual income for Crestwood was $58,200 (city-data.com) so then according to you, we have the average police officer and firefighter pay at $116,400 per year?
Don't worry about the police officer's, I heard we lost two more to Kirkwood. They received a pay raise and their benefits were better.
We also lost a public works employee as well. We won't have to worry about anyone taking a paycut, they are leaving for better pay else where.
I hope someone will stay to mind the shop.
I'm not worried at all. Why? Simple. Fifteen officers were given raises or pay adjustments. Five were given promotions. The department got 10 new police cars.
Can you verify that Kirkwood is "better pay"?
Again, scare tactics to promote the tax increase.
The City of Crestwood could cut service in police and fire and no one would know the difference. I would bet that very few if any residence know how many police officers are actually working at any given time. The same with the Fire Department.
I think they do. I also know that residents appreciate them. But residents aren't so appreciative of our city government.
I wonder if the city knows just how many of our residents rent? You would be surprised. They just live here and don't really pay any attention to the goings on up at city hall........
The CALL in it's editorial today asks the Mayor our Board to remove the City Attorney.
I then read the quotes of our Chief of Police who claims his giving pay increases was a "technical foul" because he didn't think to look back to 1965 when the City Code was published.
First of all the law he broke is in the City Charter and secondly the Charter has been in effect for 13 years of the 25 years he has worked here. I thought the Chief of Police was the head of our law enforcement department? Do you feel you could go to traffic court in Crestwood and use as an excuse that the law you broke was an old one and get off scott free?
I think the editorial of the Call didn't go far enough and Paillou should resign as if he is not able to obey our Charter how can he enforce our laws?
I don't think the citizens in this community want to be bothered with politics which seems to be accurate when I hear an average of 18 citizens are attending the citizens for Prop 1 meetings. Even the Town Hall meetings were not well attended. But try to change the laws regarding our animals and people come out of the woodwork. People are just to darn busy with their own lives to worry about things and issues they can't change.
And on one more note, we can complain about our elcted officials all we want but the fact is these are retired or working residents of our city. I really don't have high expectations of them other than to keep us out of debt and ensuring we have a safe community. These are not accountants, bankers or even professional politicians, what they are more like is you and I. The difference is they sit on the dias and have to make decisions for all of us and they are never going to please all of us. Come to think of it they probably didn't get all of our votes when they were elected. If there are those of you out there that think you can do better and will be mistake free, then step up, we need perfect people to run our city , our county and our country.
9:51 You and I know there are no perfect people only those who think they are. These people will argue over a bar of soap. So unless those who constantly bicker think they can do a better job and run for office, they should just shut up.
Yes, I'll argue over a bar of soap. I prefer Ivory. Dove makes my skin itch.
Mrs. Fay Clark attended last nights Ward 1 meeting on the tax increase, and I am told her comment's were right on the money, and very well received! Welcome back Fay, we missed your eloquent comments!
I love it when our citizens stand up to be counted, don't you? From the response so far at these Ward meetings, I would say the tax issue is now on life support. One more meeting by the committee, and we will be calling for the last rites!
We have at least two voices of reason in Steve Nieder, and Jerry Miguel, they know their numbers, the know the drill, and they are 100% correct, we do not need a tax increase at this time!
Tom Ford
3:55 PM blogger: Isn't that the truth, why dove just clashes with my after shave something fierce, so it's Ivory for me too!
Hummmmm!
Tom Ford
Once again, regarding the sales tax holiday, it would appear from an article in the St. Louis Business Journal that back to school sales will increase this year, even with the slow economy.
So, was the sales tax holiday even needed?
"Total back-to-school spending this year is estimated to reach $20.1 billion, a $1.7 billion increase over last year's estimate, according to the National Retail Federation."
This was taken from an article titled "Back-to-school spending to top $20B this year" in the St. Louis Business Journal - by Tierney Plumb/Baltimore Business Journal
For the entire article, see http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/07/21/daily81.html?jst=b_ln_hl
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