REBUTTAL - Marty

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• Previous message: Will Shetterly: "REBUTTAL - Shetterly"

C> I would like to ask Sen. Marty a question about the property tax issue.
C> Many groups on both political sides have studied Minnesota's property  
C> tax system over the past several years and have come to the same       
C> conclusion - that Minnesota's system is arcane and in need of
C> comprehensive reform.  Instead of making another DFL election year     
C> promise of more property tax relief, this time achieved by an income tax 
C> increase, why not use the bully pulpit to reform the system that is    
C> draining our state's resources?


RESPONSE TO CARLSON QUESTION
for E-Democracy

         Without doubt, the property tax system must be reformed, but not
the way Arne Carlson is proposing to do it, What Carlson proposes is to
give businesses a huge property tax break at the expense of homeowners.

     At the Chamber of Commerce debate, Carlson said it was his policy to
move from a "tax capacity" property tax system to a "market value" system,
No mistake about it, he said it twice.  What may have been lost on many,
but certainly not on his Chamber of Commerce friends was that behind that
fancy lingo Carlson is proposing a radical shift in tax policy that will
cause dramatic, double and triple digit increases in homeowner's property
taxes across the state. Let me give you a few examples of the increases
that would result on average priced hotnes for cities across the state.

Alexandria -  92.6%
Arden Hills -  46.2%
Bemidji - 91.0%
Bloomington - 61%
Columbia Heights - 93.3%
Deehaven - 5.3%
Dellwood -  (-1.7%)
Duluth - 78.4%
East Grand Forks - 74.3%
Edina - 14.5%
Hallock - 79.8%
International Falls - 93.6%
Minneapolis - 103.3%
Park Rapids - 89.6%
Redwood Falls - 63.2%
Rochester - 75.8%
St, Paul - 107.8%
Virginia - 79.9%
Wayzata - 27.7%
Zemple - 134.5%

At the same time that homeowners' property taxes would rise dramatically,
businesses' property taxes would drop nearly as dramatically, across the
state, business property taxes would drop 30, 40, up to 60%.  It is, of
course, only a coincidence that Carlson's big money friends from the
Western Suburbs get the double benefit of very little increase in their
homestead property taxes and a big decrease in their business property
taxes.

     Arne Carlson lies every time he says he will not raise taxes- He would
saddle every Minnesotan with a steep increases in one of the most
regressive of taxes: property taxes. This is not reform, this is larceny.

     John Marty offers true reform of the property tax system: $600 million
directly to property tax reform and taking education off the property tax
rolls. That is guaranteed. Carlson is deceiving the voters. He is no tax
reformer- He's Governor Property Tax.

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