I wanted to share with you the remarks I prepared (I could only use a portion of the below due to the 2 minute rule for remarks before the BoS, but thought I should post what I drafted in its entirety). I will post Patricia's remarks shortly as well... Nicholas
Nicholas Graham – remarks
Loudoun Board of Supervisors – Public Hearing
630pm – Monday, October 20th, 2008
As you may know, Patricia Phillips and I established a new citizens group here in Loudoun barely a week ago called the Loudoun Coalition Against the Food Tax, whose goal is to defeat the referendum that will appear on the November 4th ballot that allows for a new 4% tax to be imposed on meals, beverages, and prepared foods in grocery stores. Not to mention Starbucks, Happy Meals, Domino’s Pizza, Dairy Queen ice cream, movie popcorn, sub shops, and your favorite take-out orders from basically anywhere.
We are grateful that our non-partisan, independent Coalition boasts support across the community spectrum – with members from this Board of Supervisors, the School Board, the Leesburg Town Council, and three of the five Constitutional officers in Loudoun.
And I assure you we are not doing this to get a better table at the local restaurant that no longer places us next to the restrooms at the back. It’s just the right thing to do.
Now, I know that this County faces some very difficult choices. We are deeply understanding of that. We also know that there are many other local jurisdictions which are also facing a fiscal abyss – and many of them have chosen not to put such a referendum in front of the voters, as we have done here in Loudoun.
I completely respect that all of you and your able staff face painful decisions…and challenging decisions.
But placing a food tax on the ballot – and adopting it - is simply the wrong decision.
And here’s why:
1. I can think of no more onerous and punitive regressive tax that unfairly places more of the dollar-for-dollar burden on the low-income, working families here in Loudoun; not to mention the disabled and seniors – who absolutely depend on delivered foods and prepared grocery store foods more than the rest of us;
2. At a time when our collective IRAs, 529 college savings plans, 401Ks, and bank accounts are shrinking by the day – with gas prices still high, and with food prices soaring – an additional tax on one of our life’s necessities, food and beverages, is illogical, painful, and untimely;
3. Why are we unfairly singling out – in a discriminatory way – a specific industry in our county that is the economic engine for jobs, wages, and revenue – our small business restaurants? Even without the imposition of this tax, we’ve seen County gem after County gem close shop in just the past few months – such as Pacific, That’s Amore, Café Panache, Johnson’s Charcoal Beef House, Old Dominion Brewery Pub, Del Ray, Pepe’s, Casa Gonzalez – and the list goes on and on…
4. This would be an overnight doubling of taxation on food, beverages and prepared foods – a 100% tax increase: when you add 4% onto a food and beverage bill, you’re adding onto a bill that already has a 4.5% state sales tax, and then factor in 15-20% for a tip…and you’re already talking about a consumer facing a new bill which is 25-30% non-food related…and if there is going to be some trimming of the bill – you guessed it – it’s going to come out of the 15-20% given to the kind wait staff who depend on that to make a decent living.
5. the idea that eating on the go, or picking up prepared foods, is some kind of “luxury” is out of touch with today’s Loudoun working families – eating on the run is a necessity not just for busy moms and dads and their children, but for workers and crews during the day.
Make no mistake, diversifying our tax revenue base and building schools are goals we all share, of course.
But the real question is this: why would the goal of diversifying our tax base ever outweigh the goal and real need to protect the poor and indigent of this County, our tax-paying working families, as well as our small businesses?
By making this referendum a Machiavellian choices, a Hobson’s choice between either holding down taxes in treacherous fiscal times OR increasing funding for school construction, this referendum’s only accomplishment come Wednesday morning November 5th may end up being to ensure that these two fundamental goals become “mutually exclusive” in voters’ minds from this day forward.
When this goes down to defeat, as it has twice before – and the Coalition is working tirelessly day by day to ensure that history does, in fact, repeat itself – I’d respectfully submit that the Board should have considered creating a specific tax jurisdiction encompassing Dulles International Airport to carve-out a more targeted revenue stream for the referendum’s end goal, instead of sniper-targeting the small business restaurant industry – or busy, working moms and Loudoun’s low-income citizens and seniors.
Instead of focusing on “diversifying tax base”, why not re-focus on the goal of diversifying the options in which we can all begin to limit spending, reduce waste, and place a cap on the growth of certain programs and bureaucracies here in Loudoun?
We as Loudouners are forced every week, and every month to balance our budgets around the kitchen table.
We simply ask you to fulfill your role in making the same tough decisions that working Loudouners have to make – and balance the county budget at this table right here, every year.
Thank you very much...
Loudoun Board of Supervisors – Public Hearing
630pm – Monday, October 20th, 2008
As you may know, Patricia Phillips and I established a new citizens group here in Loudoun barely a week ago called the Loudoun Coalition Against the Food Tax, whose goal is to defeat the referendum that will appear on the November 4th ballot that allows for a new 4% tax to be imposed on meals, beverages, and prepared foods in grocery stores. Not to mention Starbucks, Happy Meals, Domino’s Pizza, Dairy Queen ice cream, movie popcorn, sub shops, and your favorite take-out orders from basically anywhere.
We are grateful that our non-partisan, independent Coalition boasts support across the community spectrum – with members from this Board of Supervisors, the School Board, the Leesburg Town Council, and three of the five Constitutional officers in Loudoun.
And I assure you we are not doing this to get a better table at the local restaurant that no longer places us next to the restrooms at the back. It’s just the right thing to do.
Now, I know that this County faces some very difficult choices. We are deeply understanding of that. We also know that there are many other local jurisdictions which are also facing a fiscal abyss – and many of them have chosen not to put such a referendum in front of the voters, as we have done here in Loudoun.
I completely respect that all of you and your able staff face painful decisions…and challenging decisions.
But placing a food tax on the ballot – and adopting it - is simply the wrong decision.
And here’s why:
1. I can think of no more onerous and punitive regressive tax that unfairly places more of the dollar-for-dollar burden on the low-income, working families here in Loudoun; not to mention the disabled and seniors – who absolutely depend on delivered foods and prepared grocery store foods more than the rest of us;
2. At a time when our collective IRAs, 529 college savings plans, 401Ks, and bank accounts are shrinking by the day – with gas prices still high, and with food prices soaring – an additional tax on one of our life’s necessities, food and beverages, is illogical, painful, and untimely;
3. Why are we unfairly singling out – in a discriminatory way – a specific industry in our county that is the economic engine for jobs, wages, and revenue – our small business restaurants? Even without the imposition of this tax, we’ve seen County gem after County gem close shop in just the past few months – such as Pacific, That’s Amore, Café Panache, Johnson’s Charcoal Beef House, Old Dominion Brewery Pub, Del Ray, Pepe’s, Casa Gonzalez – and the list goes on and on…
4. This would be an overnight doubling of taxation on food, beverages and prepared foods – a 100% tax increase: when you add 4% onto a food and beverage bill, you’re adding onto a bill that already has a 4.5% state sales tax, and then factor in 15-20% for a tip…and you’re already talking about a consumer facing a new bill which is 25-30% non-food related…and if there is going to be some trimming of the bill – you guessed it – it’s going to come out of the 15-20% given to the kind wait staff who depend on that to make a decent living.
5. the idea that eating on the go, or picking up prepared foods, is some kind of “luxury” is out of touch with today’s Loudoun working families – eating on the run is a necessity not just for busy moms and dads and their children, but for workers and crews during the day.
Make no mistake, diversifying our tax revenue base and building schools are goals we all share, of course.
But the real question is this: why would the goal of diversifying our tax base ever outweigh the goal and real need to protect the poor and indigent of this County, our tax-paying working families, as well as our small businesses?
By making this referendum a Machiavellian choices, a Hobson’s choice between either holding down taxes in treacherous fiscal times OR increasing funding for school construction, this referendum’s only accomplishment come Wednesday morning November 5th may end up being to ensure that these two fundamental goals become “mutually exclusive” in voters’ minds from this day forward.
When this goes down to defeat, as it has twice before – and the Coalition is working tirelessly day by day to ensure that history does, in fact, repeat itself – I’d respectfully submit that the Board should have considered creating a specific tax jurisdiction encompassing Dulles International Airport to carve-out a more targeted revenue stream for the referendum’s end goal, instead of sniper-targeting the small business restaurant industry – or busy, working moms and Loudoun’s low-income citizens and seniors.
Instead of focusing on “diversifying tax base”, why not re-focus on the goal of diversifying the options in which we can all begin to limit spending, reduce waste, and place a cap on the growth of certain programs and bureaucracies here in Loudoun?
We as Loudouners are forced every week, and every month to balance our budgets around the kitchen table.
We simply ask you to fulfill your role in making the same tough decisions that working Loudouners have to make – and balance the county budget at this table right here, every year.
Thank you very much...
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