Apparently so. Despite being one of the highest taxed areas in the entire southeast, a large "coalition" of government and those on the government dole are seeking even higher taxes -- this time on car rentals.

They are trying to get the car rental tax increased to 14 or 15%. They claim it will somehow drive tourism, but that shows the utter insanity of such groups who honestly appear to believe that if you charge people MORE money, they will come visit you.

What's worse is the "partnership" group that's forming here. Wachovia, a HUGE government supporter because they get enormous piles of government cash, stands to gain the most from the deal -- they will get more buildings for business expansion and "residential" units -- whatever that means. They will also get huge tax write-offs that won't appear as cash giveaways, but actually are.

BankAmerica will also get cash benefits in the form of tax credits. City governmental leaders will get more money to spend, so they're all on board. The city is also trying to literally bribe two car-rental companies to support the tax increase by giving them free advertising funds and seats on local government boards.

If you've never read Atlas Shrugged, now is a good time. When businesses and government are working together arguing over who gets to spend more of the workers' money, things are really bad. There's almost no opposition to this taking of money from those who work -- the only discussion is who gets to spend more of the cash, once taken.

State Representative John Rhodes and State Senator Robert Pittinger are both fighting this -- but as you can see, there are substantial forces aligned against them and the taxpayer.

Posted by: Ogre at 11:09 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 297 words, total size 2 kb.