TAXES - FAIR & UNFAIR, DUMB & DUMBER

Submitted by Roldo on Tue, 11/17/2009 - 10:49.

I guess I’m just stupid. I don’t get it. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson wants to tax garbage to raise $13 million a year. Then he wants to tax non-profits to raise $5 million a year.

 

But residents already pay taxes to have their garbage picked up. Non-profits don’t any pay taxes. Seems to be a contradiction right there. Don’t you go after those that don’t pay taxes rather than those that do?

 

But there’s more.

 

Most Cleveland residents are not doing that well. Many of them you would call low income. Non-profits may be having some money problems but there’s plenty of money there.

 

Example: The Cleveland Clinic, likely the biggest of non-profits, had $3.4 BILLION in revenues in 2007, latest IRS report available.

 

Example: University Hospitals had net assets of nearly a billion, $994-million, in 2001, latest I could find.

 

Example: Cleveland Museum of Art has net assets of $873 million.

 

Example: Cleveland Foundation – assets of $1.49 billion.

 

Example: Gund Foundation – Assets of more than a half of billion dollars.

 

So from these behemoths you’d get $5 million a year but from working and unemployed stiffs you’d get $13 million? And you know the $9.25 garbage monthly fee will soon be $12, then $15 and then more.

 

So from the big money institutions you want $5 million but from people, who already pay plenty in income and property taxes, you want $13 million a year.

 

Doesn’t sound right. Not to me. Not to anyone with any sense.

What sounds even more ridiculous is this. The city would tax the Cleveland Museum of Art and the County gives the Cleveland Museum of Art $1.5 million in 2008 from the Culture & Arts fund from the cigarette tax.

 

Do we tax Playhouse Square, a non-profit that also gets subsidies from the County and got more than $1.5 million in 2008 from the County’s Culture and Arts fund, via a tax on cigarettes from the County?

 

Do you tax the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a non-profit? The Rock Hall got $880,000 from the Arts & Culture 2008 fund.

 

Do you give with one hand and take back with the other?

 

And then there’s this. Do you tax the tax exempt property users? They don’t pay taxes.

 

Would there be the tax on Progressive Field, on Q Arena, Browns Stadium? If not, why not? Shouldn’t they chip in?

 

It seems as though the plans for clipping people for chump change that hurts little guys but doesn’t much damage the big ones hasn’t been thought out and doesn’t make sense.

 

Go back to the drawing board, Mr. Mayor.

 

 

 

 

 

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Roldo, clarify please

Roldo, please clarify the connection of non-profits receiving funding from the County and the need to tax them, if that is what you are saying. I feel like I am missing the point here. Thank you. 

No. I was just saying that

No. I was just saying that one level of government is giving money to some of the cultural non-profits while, as I understand the Jackson proposal, it would take from some of these same non-profits.

 

Our councilmen are due to

Our councilmen are due to vote on this proposal soon, so get your emails, phone calls, and letters in to let them know what you think about this garbage fee. Will the councilmen support their constituents, or will they go with Jackson's tax the poor plan?  Who does he think is living in the city of Cleveland for the most part.  Isn't it mostly those who were not able to leave because they couldn't afford homes in more affluent areas?  Does anybody care about the people that live here?