Wake Up Wake Press Release on Transfer Tax

Cut and paste on transfer tax:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Re: Transfer Tax Defeat Leaves Question: How do we pay for growth?

Date: November 12, 2007

Contact: Stan Norwalk, Vice-Chair, WakeUP Wake County, 363-4685

Many are asking the question: is the negative vote on transfer tax referenda in sixteen counties the end of the transfer tax? The results in the referenda around the state are clear. The question remains about how do we pay for schools, for public education, for roads, for water and for the basic infrastructure that makes Wake County and North Carolina an attractive place to live and work? How do we pay for growth? Do we want all the cost for new infrastructure on the backs of existing residents in the form of much higher property taxes and sales taxes? Here is a link to the N&O's analysis. "Without transfer tax, property taxes could rise."

http://www.newsobserver.com/print/saturday/city_state/story/767340.html
The solutions seem more remote than ever. And that should be of concern to the leaders of both business and government across the state. That should be of concern to parents seeking to prepare their children for the challenges that lie ahead. It should concern commuters stuck in traffic jams. It will concern businesses seeking to relocate or grow here. It will concern taxpayers as they face the alternatives of a succession of steep increases in property tax or cuts in services. It may even concern the leaders of the real estate and development lobbies. Have they won a battle only to kill the goose that laid the golden egg?

Of equal concern should be that in Wake and other fast growing counties the voters are saying: slow down the growth. A better answer would have been to allow growth to pay for growth and keep our infrastructure up-to-date. Quality growth and infrastructure will attract jobs and keep our economy strong.

Some things seem clear. It's a bad idea to ask voters to tax themselves with a new tax they don't understand. Allowing two referendums (for a transfer tax and a sales tax) on the same ballot is a way of killing both. Giving voters a choice between two taxes is no choice at all. Also, voters want to know exactly how their money will be spent. Even in the worst of times, most people will vote for school bonds knowing a tax increase will follow.

The $1.5 million spent by the real estate and development lobbies this year on defeating the transfer tax was a key factor. Their alliance with anti-government, anti-tax groups, such as the John Locke Foundation, Civitas and Americans for Prosperity helped sow distrust as to how the money will be spent. The lack of a statewide counter to this alliance gave them free rein to promote half-truths and distortions. Had the transfer tax been linked to paying for a school bond there would have been little room to question how the money would be spent.

Any county that wants to win a transfer tax referendum must be well organized and have a well funded effort. The special interests opposed to the transfer tax offer only half-truths. They do not offer solutions the public will accept once they are understood. But they have endless amounts of money to spend on slick campaigns.

At the end of the day, the vote in the sixteen counties is a set back. The problems remain. WakeUP will continue to educate the public about the transfer tax, impact fees and adequate public facilities ordinances (APFO's). The latter ensure that school capacity and other infrastructure is kept up-to-date with growth. Six counties in NC and several fast growing states use APFOs.

But even more important is for leaders in government and business to step forward to take a more active role in supporting solutions to the problems we all face.

Stan Norwalk
919-363-4685
stann@nc.rr.com
wakeupwakecounty.com