[Bill14564]

The phrase that popped into my mind when reading some of these posts was, "all are equal but some are more equal than others."



On the issue of taxes, a few recent items stick in my mind:
- An agreement was made many years ago that resulted in the County raising the tax rate by nearly 30% to pay for road improvements made necessary by additional development
- When an increase to the road impact fee seemed about to pass, a state law was rushed through to retroactively cancel the increase and we know what happened to two BoCC members who were in favor of the increase
- When a new fee structure was proposed for fire protection that would have increased fees for businesses and decreased taxes for residents, the BoCC listened to those businesses and rejected the plan that they had initially supported.
- When separate MSBUs were proposed for TVPSD and SCFEMS, studies found that outside the Villages the burden should be shouldered by the businesses while inside the Villages the burden should be shouldered by the residents.
- With the cost of fire protection removed from the general fund, the BoCC is proposing to keep the tax rate at the rollback rate, add the MSTU rate, and promote this as a tax reduction when it is effectively a 13% tax increase for residents of the Villages and more for those outside the Villages

all taxpayers are equal, but some are more equal than others
taxes (and fees) should be applied fairly, but more fairly for some than for others