Memo to Grand Forks City Council: Let Private Businesses Pay For Their Own Needs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – January 31st, 2008  

Contact: Duane Sand, (701) 223-9887

 

Memo to Grand Forks City Council: 
Let Private Businesses Pay For Their Own Needs

 

Grand Forks, ND – It was reported in the January 31st Grand Forks Herald that a member of the Grand Forks City Council has proposed a ¼ cent increase of the city sales tax. 

What is the purpose of this new sales tax increase at the city level?

According to Grand Forks Herald writer Tu-Uyen Tran: “For Christensen, the worry is that a county sales tax could mean a major setback for the Industrial Park. Presently, there is no clear source of funding for a $17.9 million expansion; made necessary by the lack of space for new factories…The park is home to such major employers as wind turbine blade maker LM Glasfiber and aircraft maker Cirrus Design. City leaders hope to attract more of their kind but, without land available, their chances are much slimmer.”

Did you catch that? 

The reason the city wants to increase the sales tax is so that it can subsidize businesses in hopes they will expand operations.  This is in fact a noble cause, but not when taxpayers are struggling under the highest tax burden of any major city in the state of North Dakota. Furthermore, Mr. Christensen says there is an urgency because if the county raises taxes first, the voters may not want to approve another city sales tax increase.

“The taxpayers of Grand Forks should be outraged.  Here you have a city councilman that wants to increase the sales tax to do something other than reducing property taxes. The taxpayers have spoken – they want tax relief not tax hikes.  If a sales tax increase was used to reduce the city’s portion of property taxes it would be acceptable – but a sales tax increase for the purpose of corporate welfare is an outrageous proposal,” said Duane Sand, state director of Americans for Prosperity.

 

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