With a new year just on the horizon and the challenges it will bring we may have to look to one another a little more next year.
Towns, Counties and States will be feeling the economic pinch a little harder as cuts in services and employment continue. With little hope for existing revenue increases, government entities are beginning to look to new areas to tap for funds. These 'New Revenues' may not be tax increases, but make no mistake, they are fees for services for which we are already paying.
The City of New York, lead by the very creative Mayor Bloomberg, (a potential candidate for President in 2012), is the first in New York State's city entities to put forth new taxes disguised as 'Fees for Services Rendered'. In this particular case the City of New York will be charging for such services as automobile fires and accident clean up as well as EMS and Ambulance Services. It was not too long ago such services were considered part of the budget, that is paid for out of the many, many taxes which the city levies on it's residents and businesses as well as sales taxes and additional sin taxes. This is no longer the case and if successful, you can expect municipalities outside of NYC to begin charging for such services.
Mind you there is some legitimacy to Mayor Bloomberg's idea, costs related to non-residents auto accidents on the streets of NYC have thus far been the burden of City Residents, but this law goes further, a sliding scale of fees has been created to charge all accident victims for city services.
These fees will undoubtably be passed along to insurance companies on a no fault basis and then divided among it's customers finding it's way into the annual premiums as higher insurance cost.
The issue at hand is whether or not we allow our elected officials to have unbridled power over our pay checks and let them continue to pick the pockets of their citizenry whenever their excessive spending policy dims their re-election chances.
Don't be fooled by 0% tax levies, pay close attention to the actions of county and city executives as they will be attempting similar methods to raise revenue in difficult economic times.
What's next: Fees for school bus pick-ups, mail deliver charges and winter road maintenence?
Isn't that why we pay taxes in the first place?
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Actually Bloomberg's idea is nothing new. It has been enacted by several cities and counties on the west coast.
ReplyDelete12:37 Yes, and the State to which you refer, California is in more dire financial straits than is NY. Are we to reach such depths before our state leaders begin to control spending and realize the union contracts made in the past are the design for fiscal disaster?
ReplyDeleteGranted the union lobbyists have a stranglehold on state politicians, the question is do we as voters rely on failed policy enacted by bought and paid for officials or do we take it to the voting booth before we reach financial ruin?
Don't know, I tried taking it to the voting booth and it didn't work. Smoke'em if you got'em cause we're going down.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, If you add up all the union raises for the last 50 years statewide, I bet they don't compare to one year of the binge spending that these idiots do on everything from special interests to social programs.
1:16 Jeremiah is correct. Many municipalities charge fees for EMS services. Here is one example.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.co.okaloosa.fl.us/dept_ps_ems_billing.html
Forida however has no income tax! unlike NY which avgs close to 7% & NYC another 3.5%, add that to the 8% sales tax, in NYC it's 9%, when is enough, enough? People in Bloomberg's NYC are paying almost 20% for services already, that is 20% via payroll there is also the school and realestate tax in the city and state, a water and sewer tax, added sin taxes, I'm getting a head ache just thinking about it!
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