The Tyranny of the few.

[stormgren]

*sigh*

Looks like our local anti-tax loon got his recall petition language approved. This would, if it made it to ballot and passed, would recall the entire city government, possibly leaving it up to the Govenor to appoint.

Comments

[ericthemage]

He has either proposed that this be paid for out of thin air or through a possibly unconstitutional city income tax system.

I'm interested to hear more about this. Property taxes make sense to pay for roads and the water system, but an income tax is definitely a bad idea. That will cause more overhead for the city in the long run, since I'm assuming most people who live in Clawson don't work there. How will they enforce that?

[stormgren]

Okay, he wanted to enact a city income tax that worked like this:

1. Tax everybody. This regularly comes out of payroll taxes anyway (See: City of Detroit).

2. Issue property tax rebates to Clawson residents equal to the income tax.

This effectively screws over renters (who usually don't claim their rent deductions allowed to them by the state) and those who only work in the city.

Needless to say, under various constitutional amendments and tax inequity clauses, this is not legal.

Enforcement I assume would be provided by whatever body handles other city income tax enforcement. It does provide a very large burden for the city to handle, I do agree.

Needless to say, he's not very rooted in reality, either.

[ericthemage]

1. Tax everybody. This regularly comes out of payroll taxes anyway (See: City of Detroit).

This works for the city of Detroit because everyone knows about the city income tax there. I can't name any other city in Michigan that does this, although I'm sure there's at least one.

This will miss those who don't claim any income. I have no idea how that would affect those on Social Security.

2. Issue property tax rebates to Clawson residents equal to the income tax.

Great, hire more people to shuffle more paperwork. And it will screw over renters, who are paying for property taxes as part of their rent.

Needless to say, he's not very rooted in reality, either.

I heartily agree.

I'd be more supportive of an initiative to tax land value instead of property value. That would encourage development and wouldn't penalize you for improving your house.

[bjserven]

Pontiac and Flint both have city income taxes also.

[pstscrpt]

I can't name any other city in Michigan that does this, although I'm sure there's at least one.
Doesn't Hamtramck do that? I think Pontiac does, as well.

And it will screw over renters
That's probably a goal, not a side-effect. Think about Laura complaining about renters and demanding that the mayor carry her groceries in from the car.

[mogwar]

Every city in Michigan with an income tax that I am aware of handles it in the exact same way. Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Pontiac, Grand Rapids, you name it. The only difference is that traditionally Detroit has had a different rate than everyone else, although that is changing because the most recent census results constitutionally mandate it

[niteshad]

Thanks for posting this Stormgren. I'm so new to town that I don't yet have a good handle on local politics yet. Suffice to say, I'm all for paying the money to repave the roads around here; they look like they're about 5-10 years overdue for that sort of attention.

[noweb4u]

There's a good reason I probably wouldn't buy a house in clawson, and that's pretty much it.

[niteshad]

Yeah,

However, in my case the rent was reasonable and it's the shortest commute possible (neglecting sleeping bag under the desk.)

There are plenty of other cities around here that are good to buy houses in. I've heard you mention Royal Oak before. I've also heard some good things about Ferndale and Troy in that regard.

[noweb4u]

Yea, Royal Oak would be my target area.

I have nothing against Clawson specifically, and your apartment is sweet, but I wouldn't sink long term investment into an area where people refuse to pay for infrastructure.

[uplinktruck]

So let me get this straight...

The person or people looking for a recall are doing this soley on their objection to taxes toward having the roads and water system repaired?

There is no other issue on their plate?

Have they suggested what services they want cut in place of a tax hike?

Or do they really believe the money can be produced like a magic trick?

**poke-poke-pokes at Google news with no results**

[noweb4u]

it could also be that they know that they can't get republicans elected, so the best idea would be to not have anyone running the city at all.

retards.

[stormgren]

Search +Clawson +Recall

Also look at clawsontaxpayer.com, if you dare. Incoherent mostly.

He's got a bug up his ass that *part* of the road improvement money would *possibly* also have been used for a matching loan with interest so that the Downtown Development Authority could put in improvements along 14 mile as they repaved.

The loan would have to have been repaid with interest, thereby making the city money and helping to pay for the bond issue faster.

Nevermind that redeveloping downtown is a good thing, and we're in the middle of a resurgence in new business development.

[uplinktruck]

Thanks for the links. I found it.

You're right, you are being terroized by a small minority. It's rough on everyone when someone like this finds any kind of power base. At this point one has to wonder if he has an actual power base or just a lot of media attention.

You will find out how many people are paying attention to the mockingbird and how many are really informed as to the real cost / benefit to the city's taxpayers.

Good luck.