Tax Increase Fails
Tulsa County voters rejected the so called “River Tax” yesterday by a margin of 52.5% to 47.5%, much to the disappointment of the supporters of the tax increase. Voter turnout was very good for a special election with just under 128-thousand voters going to the polls.
Reality is a bitter pill for some today in the wake of the defeat of the ill-conceived plan to “develop” the Arkansas River. A plan which would do nothing for the benefit of the average Tulsa County resident and would provide a windfall for private enterprise at the expense of taxpayers.
There is nothing wrong with river development, provided those that want to develop are willing to use their money and not that of the taxpayers.
We have already seen how well private development turned out in Jenks with the Oklahoma Aquarium and RiverWalk Crossing, neither of which required tax increases on Tulsa County taxpayers.
If developers in Jenks can do it, developers in Tulsa should be able to do the same. If they can not, they need to find a new line of work and leave development to those that know how to do it without soaking the taxpayers.
That this “river tax” was defeated soundly does not assure that another will not follow close behind. The grassroots effort that made sure that this “river tax” went down to a well-deserved defeat must be prepared for the next assault on our wallets and purses, for surely it will come probably within a year, 18 months at most.
In the meantime, what can we do to lure privately funded developers from Jenks to Tulsa?
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That said I do wonder just how much money was spent by the Vote “Yes” groups? I know the budget for the “No River Tax” wasn’t much. Notice also that both sides were for development; one wanted to raise taxes to do so, the other wanted alternatives without raising taxes. I bet News 8 loved this tax because every time I turned on their station all they had was an add trying to sell everyone on how wonderful life would be if only we paid the extra tax.
If any city or state wants to lure business all they need to do is lower taxes and they will come. Unlike the pipe dream of “If we develop the river they will come”