Some common sense on proposed taxation

Finally, someone has shown some common sense in dealing with a proposed taxation in the Town of Smithfield. I am glad to see that a member of Smithfield's Town Council sees things clearly and calls it what it is. Whoever thought up that proposed tax is a bonehead.

From WMPM's news page:

Town Council Rejects $5 Vehicle Tax - With rising gasoline prices, Town Councilman Sidney Broadwell thought a proposal to levy a vehicle tax of up to $5 a year for every car in Smithfield was just too much. Residents already pay property tax on their cars and trucks. Calling the proposed $5 fee a "tax on top of a tax" Broadwell said the town had survived without the fee this long and felt the collections with the current motor vehicle tax was adequate. Councilman Charles Williams seconded Broadwell’s motion to reject a proposed $5 vehicle tax and the council voted unanimously not to implement the additional tax. About 9,400 vehicles are currently registered within the town limits and the tax would have generated about $47,000 per year, starting July 1. Currently, Benson levies a $3 vehicle tax. Clayton and Pine Level each levy a $5 vehicle tax. Funds generated by the tax in Smithfield would have been directed towards accelerating street resurfacing and sidewalks.

Mr. Broadwell is exactly right. There is already a vehicle property tax. An additional fee is a tax on top of a tax. Clayton, Pine Level, and Benson are using a double taxation on vehicles, which is just plain unethical. Have the guts to raise the property tax rate if you want to squeeze more tax money out of the citizens instead of doing the incremental/supplemental tax thing. When you call it a $3 or $5 fee, it does not seem like much and as if it is insignificant. When you call it a tax increase, people realize what it really is. I wish more elected officials had the same intelligence as Sidney Broadwell. Enough is enough.