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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1993)
. How much is the soles lox supposed to be? Measure I would initiate o 5 percent soles tax on goods This rate can only be raised by a statewide vote Vkiono Bqw iugene widen’ Is the money going lo be used toward schools os they profess it will? According to the Voter's Pomphlet, public school and community college rev enues will increase by $9$3 million per fiscol year with o soles tox Public school expenses will increose by $4 million each year because of taxes on purchases How does the soles tox benefit both stores and con sumers? There is no direct benefit to stores or consumers Consumers and busi nesses will have to Ucvtd Vonderfip (ugene reudent pay 5 peicent on most goods, lowering the buying powei of the dollar According to the Oregonian, businesses will pay a leduced 3 percent on production machin ery and equipment in manufacturing, forming ond mining Is all of the sales tax money going toward colleges or public schools’ According to the Voter's Pamphlet, soles tax money is ^ earmaiked specifically m, rotating for public schools and community colleges. Universities will only benefit horn the tox indirectly through government savings on public schools /# "I think it's insane Since Tom McCall, legislatures in Oregon have been trying to get a sales tax passed unsuccessfully I think it's going to be the biggest blow to the economy - CoHCob Vonauw. Utah “I |ust think that the sales tax is really important I hope everyone votes yes Without a sales tax, high schools like Churchill and other small schools will close down" - lore O'Hoalfy, lunor at South Engww Higli School ## Legislator argues against sales tax SALEM (AP) — Cutting state spending and improving effi ciency. not a sales tax. are the answers to the school funding problems, m cording to a legislator who opposes the tax Rep Boh Tinman's debate opponent, state school Superinten dent Norma Pnulus. said Friday she supports a sales tax to sta bilize school finance and not to int rea.se spending. The two fin ed off before the Salem City Club over the rt per cent sales tax measure that's up for a statewide vote Nov ') Tiernan. a Lake Oswego Republican, hammered away at gov ernment outlays and said more cutting and careful spending are needed. Tiernan said he favors more state funds for si hoots He con tended the money is available in the current budget bet ause law makers did not i ut as mm h as they should have "Make your government forte itself to be more effii lent bv defeating the sales tax, he said. Passing the sales tax would provide about SI billion a year for schools But Tiernan said that would not prevent lawmakers from then trimming other state aid to st bools to provide for dif ferent uses Bureaucrats and lobbyists "are lit king their chops” at the prospcH.t the tax will pass and free up other state tunus, 1 tor nan said Panins said many efforts are being made to produce a leaner education s\ stem. We are absolutely committed to giving you a better product," she said. Hut she said the state is 'off-kilter" bee ause of uncertain s< bool budgets and the effects of economic problems on chil dren "We will not he able to get ourselves back on track until we solve the school funding problem," she said. Tiernan acknowledged schools face difficulties, but said a sales tax is not the cure Just because we have a problem doesn't mean we need to shovel money at it. he said. Paul us said sales tax foes who claim it would be o record tax increase fail to sa\ that it also would give the biggest tax cut ever in Oregon hv slashing property taxes by SH35 million in 1996-97. Homeowners no longer would pay property taxes for school operations under the measure Community opinions about sales tax issue By Rebecca Merritt Of&QOn DtUfy f rr*»fjMk1 Tin* assignment seemed simple enough Armed with n tape recorder, notebook and pen, I set out with our photo editor to roam popular Kugene hang outs, talking with a few lo< nls along the way. Our mis sion to find out what the Kugene com munity thinks alaiut Ballot Measure 1. the proposed sales tax Oregonians will vote on Nov. And. to ask if voters had any questions the F.mrrahi too Id help answer in our week-long sales tax series After talking to 2r< laigene residents, stu dents, businessmen and tourists. I realized Questions about the sales tax can't lie REPORTER’S answered in three letters or loss From tho "What is it?" to tho "Lot's have a dream date with Bob Packwood contest instead." response, it became obvious the sales tax issue isn't ns simple as people would like to think Our afternoon started with a drive to Val iev River Counter However, t'nwmld report ing is against mall rules, so we ended up at the comer of Fifth Street Market. A lack of agreeable human resources downtown forced us to finish our interviews near the EMU and the University Bookstore. By the end of the afternoon, 1 was able to divide the diverse group of interviewees — ranging from high school juniors to retirement home residents — into five cat egories: Those who don't want a sales tax, ever. Those who wouldn’t mind a sales tax as long as they could he guaranteed the money goes strictly to education. Those who think it's about time Oregon joined the rest of the nation by shaking off its sales tax phobia (one University employee refers to Oregon's proposed sales tax ns a return to sanity). Those who just don't care And finally, those who really don't have a clue what the sales tax is, or they just haven't taken the time to decide what they really think about the measure (their voters' pam phlet makes a great coaster). Call me strange, but the last group of vot ers really scared me — especially those who are students So. before discussing how Eugene is going to vote on the sales tax, I felt obligated to educate those who asked "What is it?" Ballot Measure 1 calls for a 5 percent sales tax on most retail goods. It inn only lie raised by a statewide vote. Exempt from the tax are food for home consumption, housing, medicine, gasoline, utilities, farm animals, feed, seed and fertilizer. Sales tax money would lie earmarked for the funding of public schools, including kindergartens and community colleges, and is supposed to replace school revenues lost from 1990's Ballot Measure 5. Accord ing to the Oregon Voters' Pamphlet, the sales tax would increase public school rev enues bv $953 million each year. The tax S IOQ-1 In the wake of 1990's Measure 5, lawmakers have a PROPOSAL FQ^ftREGON REGIONAL SALES TAXES HOW OREGON RANKS Oregon ranks 20th m state and locol taxs collected in 1991, which totaled $2,016.87 per capita (the national average is $2082 99), and 12th in personal income collected / / WHAT'S PROPOSED A 5 percent sates tax on goods starting May 1, 1994. Principal exemptions: gro ceries, prescription medication, fuel and shelter SPECIFICS ■A vote in 1998 whether to con tinue the soles to* program Sales tax revenue is dedicated to funding public schools Sales tax rate will not increase without a vote of the public Jiff t'ASLAY/f also means an Increase of about 7 percent in corporate income taxes. Despite the uninformed few, however, the majority of people I talked with last week are concerned about the impact of a possible sales tax and are seriously con sidering how they will cast their vote. “1 really don't know if I'd want to pay a lot of extra money, but it's really the last hope we have,” said Karla Stenius. a junior at South Eugene High School. Many voters said they think the tax is necessary for both public schools and universities but are worried schools won't actually net the money. One out-of-state resident said he thinks the sales tax is a good idea but should he started on a slid ing scale so it won't be a shock to busi ness. Those opposing the measure said a sales tax would be a blow to Oregon’s economy and small businesses will suffer. • •» «V‘'