WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | (4-22-2003) Do you support a 2% City of Columbia/Richland County prepared food tax to fund historic and cultural activities?
(4-22-2003) Do you support a 2% City of Columbia/Richland County prepared food tax to fund historic and cultural activities?
bh, columbia: No. I do not support a 2o/o food tax on the consumers. It is expensive enough for most to be able to go out for dinner. Especially those with low incomes. Everyone needs a treat and going out to dinner is a treat that some can not afford as it is.
CB, Lugoff: I think this is a ridiculus idea! With teachers all over the state being laid-off and not enough $ in school districts' to supply teachers with a roll of scotch tape...they MUST be crazy! I agree with another viewer about where is the so-called lottery $ being spent? In our district, we do not even have $ to afford subs when we are out sick!!!! I believe Richland County can use that $ for EDUCATION in their districts instead of towards museums and such! Absurd!!!!
JP, Columbia: There is no way I would ever support anything that supports the trash and garbage they put on at the Township. If the township cannot operate without taxpayer support they should tear it down. We have enough taxpayer funded activities for the minorities now.
WM, Hopkins: The museums, etc., this money is supposed to fund are already heavily funded by this county. This tax was conceived and will be implemented to accomplish the land-grab by the Richland County Conservation Commission once the restrictive Town and Country Plan gets a stranglehold on owners of rural property. We are lamenting the people who will no longer be able to eat lunch, as we should, yet no one seems to care about those who will no longer have a home or farm to go home to after lunch.
WW, Columbia: Call it what you want, it is a tax increase. Anything that is subsidized by taxes becomes dempendent on taxes. Save the taxpayers some money and tear down the the township and scrap the museum, they are worthless anyway. The politicians are using the "historic and cultural" the same way that lying Hodges used "education" to get the lottery passed. This is a bad idea and if the council passes it, we need a complete new council.
MS, Columbia: With the economic problems that are affecting government revenues, governments are finding more ways to recoup those lost revenues. If this new tax is approved, then when the economy is back on track as it was 2 - 3 years ago, will this new tax go away? I would only think about approving this for "one year only" or "until June 30, 2004". Then at that time, it would have to be eliminated. However, since this is not something that is critical to the populace of Richland County, I would "not" vote in favor of this new tax.
MJ, Columbia: What difference does it make if I do or do not support this tax? Certainly the question does not mean to imply that the council members would vote according to what the majority wanted? They never do. I certainly do not support this tax. I believe in cutting services, not raking people over the coals with more tax. I am afraid that arguments against the tax will fall on deaf ears; as long as the citizens of this community choose to remain ignorant, and re-elect council members (and the mayor) based on name recognition when they look at the ballot, this type of action will continue in perpetuity. My humble suggestion to the members of the council would be to take an Econ 101 course; you might learn enough about our economy to make intelligent decisions.
BC, Irmo: This tax is a real bad idea. Not only is the tax punishing those who chose to purchase prepared food but is funding services that should be self supporting.
LH, Irmo: Taxes Taxes Taxes.. That is all I ever hear about.. By the time we pay for sales tax, property tax, personal property tax, State Taxes, Federal Taxes, Social Security taxes and Income taxes (some pay city taxes)..WHAT MONEY DO WE HAVE LEFT??? Can't play the lottery because of the taxes we have to pay... Enough is ENOUGH!
kc, columbia: I oppose this tax. The timing for adding another tax burden that will affect sales of any small retail business is very bad. These cultural and historic activities must achieve line-item status in the governments' budgets or raise their own money, rather than exist through indirect taxation, just as the zoo has done. A female director of the museum of art was recently fired by her board for not being able to raise funds, yet the board cannot raise them or find a replacement director who can. Why did she lose her job when her board's supporting or requesting this tax simply is an admission that nobody can raise funds for the the museum? Restaurant business is not so closely tied to these events that it should be singled out to establish the funds. What about bars that don't serve food? Movie theatres that serve nachos and popcorn? Any other entertainment of any type for the Columbia community? This tax is untimely and not well-thought-out, so it will be too little and spread too thin for the community to derive any real benefit - which doesn't justify the cost.
SH, Irmo: No I do not. We are already taxed to the limits. We have lots of taxes taken out of our checks. Then we have those astronomical property taxes, which are probably going up. Let's not forget the normal sales tax on everything. If there is such a problem in South Carolina, consider bringing video poker back. I don't recall having these financial woes when video poker was here. Pretty soon, taxes are going to own our paychecks and that won't be enough. We're going to have to dip into savings just to pay taxes. Know when to say when.
SP, Columbia: Why not? They are going to rape the taxpayers one way or another. What money does not go directly into the pockets of the council members will be spent on personal projects like the vista or ice hockey rink. As long as the democrats are in control, it is open season on the taxpayer.
GC, Swansea: Sure, why not? If they don't get this two percent tax increase, then they will just get it from somewhere else from us....
JH, SORRY COLUMBIA: WE’LL just go to Lexington county! every week end when we eat out!
JP, Columbia: Anyone dumb enough to believe that the Richland Criminal Council has not already decided to approve the tax is too stupid to live. Anyone dumb enough to belive that they are going to use it to fund historic and cultural activities must be a democrat who voted fo Hodges. Remember the lottery promises? Remember Air South? I dont really care because it is not far to a really nice restaurant in Lexington County. I think the Township should be torn down and that so-called art museum closed. What they want to create is a County slush fund for the council to use to fatten their wallets. I moved here 32 years ago before Columbia became a welfare magnet and you could go downtown to feed the birds and squirrels on the capital grounds without being mugged. In a couple of years I will take my federal retirement back to Georga.
JH, West Columbia: I live in West Columbia but dine in town often. At this time I mind very much any tax that is not going to fund education.
DB, Gadsden, SC: I do not favor the 2% tax. It is not needed and it is just another way to get money for the Conservation Commission to buy up land in lower Richland County. They were not able to get the money through a 1.5 million dollar loan, so now County Council is going to give it to them through this tax. And by the way, that will amount to about $500,000 dollars a year from now on.
HS, Columbia: I do not support any kind of tax increase. If these activities can't make it on their own merit they should fold.
AL, Columbia: No! We need an extra money generated by the state for the school system, because the so-called Lottery isn't doing it's job.
DT, West Columbia: I support the funding of cultural and historical activities, and a “prepared food tax” seems as equitable a means of doing it as any. At least it is possible to opt out of this tax if one wishes simply by eating in or by brown bagging their lunch. I think too that accommodations taxes should be considered as a funding source for these activities because they directly benefit the tourism industry in Columbia, such as it is.
MG, Columbia: No, I do not support this tax. While I rarely eat out, it is painfully obvious this tax is just another ruse to raise funds that will surely get lost in a bureaucracy somewhere. Much like the lottery promises, this promise to send money to well-deserving entities will never come true.
DA, Columbia: This tax sounds like another means to shift some of our local tax burden to the more transient students and soldiers that share our community. But notice that they are not proposing eliminating another tax as they create this one. Such a tax will be inflationary and possible hurt local businesses as more people will simply not eat out to save money. I would be in favor of such a tax only if it was part of a plan to permanently eliminate property taxes. Otherwise, its just another attempt for government to grow itself at the expense of the consumers.
MH, Red Bank: Maybe you should ask the servers who are going to pay for it with smaller tips.
CT, Columbia: No, I think we are taxed enought now. We have a small business and pay those taxes. Then we pay income taxes. We also have rental property and pay a tremendous amo9unt of property tax. I'm taxed to death!
