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Volume 6 Issue 37

Green Bay Packer Fans Approve Sales Tax for Lambeau Field Renovation

Green Bay, WI - Voters in Brown County, WI, home of Lambeau Field, approved a 0.5% sales tax to help pay for a three year, $295 million renovation project to the Green Bay Packers home stadium.  The tax was approved 53% to 47%.  The tax is set to go in effect November 1 with the renovations starting after the season ends (which can't come soon enough for fans with a teams 0-2 start.) 

An anti-tax group, The Committee to Save Lambeau, was working against the sales tax arguing that too few seats were being added to the stadium, the cost of the proposed atrium and brick facing was inaccurate and the impact the sales tax would have on Brown County residents over the next 30 years could be harmful.

Their efforts were defeated with the approval of the sales tax on Tuesday.  Bob Harlan, president of the Packers, said that the team would be "reaching out" to the 42,000+ people who opposed the sales tax by working to keep costs down and work for a successful donation campaign.  Now we learn the state will pay for the parking garage caused by the stadium capacity increase.  Taxpayers get the shaft again! 

Arizona Voters Face Tax Increase in November

Phoenix, AZ - Proposition 301 will be on the ballot in Arizona this November.   If approved, it would mandate a 12% increase of the sales tax (from 5%-5.6%).  

This initiative was guided through the Legislature, by Gov. Jane Dee Hull (R).  The governor, fearing that she had little chance of passing it as through the Legislature (In Arizona 2/3rds vote of the Legislature is required), passed through as a ballot initiative requiring a simple majority of both houses.  Now that initiative goes to the people for a November vote.

Education is the reason for the increase in general funds, the governor contends.  The initiative would raise an additional $438 million.  The problem is if Proposition 301 is passed first year expenditures are estimated at $532.15 million leaving a $94.5 million shortfall.  No funding source is stated so that leaves this $94.5 million to default to the general fund or another revenue source is going to have to be found.  The Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimates that this $94.5 million shortfall will be $888.9 million by 2011.  A lot more may be sacrificed to make up for this shortfall than just increased spending on education.  Looks like the tax man in Arizona will come calling for many others should this pass.

American Lung Association Warns of Tobacco Companies Evils With Taxpayer Dollars

Oakland, CA - The American Lung Association of California has launched a campaign to warn community organizations about the tobacco industry's efforts to give back to communities. 

The interesting thing about the ALA's campaign is that it is paid for with tax dollars as opposed to the millions of dollars the tobacco industry has invested into communities all across the country that uses the company's private resources.  It is interesting how the ALA blasts the tobacco industry for using their resources to "exploit" (as they refer to it) people yet do not address the fact that they are doing the same thing WHILE using the tax dollars of the people that they are preaching to.  Maybe the ALA should think about who is really being exploited.

Hero and Enemy

Hero: 181 Members of Congress who scored 85% or better on ATR's year 2000 ratings are our September Heroes'.

Enemy: The Clintons' upstate New York vacation got off to an "embarrassing start" when it was revealed the owner of the lakeside home where they stayed is a "million-dollar tax delinquent." Developer Thomas McDonald, who hosted the Clintons, owes the state $938,357 in unpaid income taxes, interest and penalties, according to state officials (New York Post).