Voters should renew SPLOST on Tuesday

Much of the $47.5 million the tax is expected to generate would be used to retire debts owed by the county government and city governments. A fair portion of the remainder will be used to purchase capital items those governments would likely need anyway, but there is also money for things like additional parks (Jackson County and Commerce). Those debts are going to be paid, one way or another, and most of those capital items must also be acquired. If SPLOST fails, where will the governments get the money? From the same source — the taxpayers — but via other taxes.

One of the advantages of a sales tax is that nonresidents who shop here help pay it. It’s estimated that 40 percent of our sales tax revenue comes from nonresidents. That means we’re not having to pay $19 million of that $47 million, that we’re getting outside help to pay for our jail debt, parks and other infrastructure. And that’s fair, because when we shop at Walmart, the Mall of Georgia or Georgia Square Mall, we help the taxpayers of Banks, Gwinnett and Clarke counties fund their needs. We’ll continue do that whether or not our SPLOST succeeds.

Another advantage of shifting some of the tax burden to sales taxes is that everyone pays. Those who spend little pay little, while those who spend more pay more. That’s one of the principles beloved by proponents of the so-called “Fair Tax.” In Georgia, state and local sales taxes help spread the tax burden to lessen the impact of property taxes (locally) and income taxes (statewide). Locally, should the SPLOST referendum fail, the burden of retiring the Jackson County Jail debt will fall entirely on property owners.

Then there’s the psychological factor of the sales tax. Because it’s collected a penny at a time, the effect seems more palatable than the property tax or income tax bill that is paid all at once. If SPLOST fails, consumers won’t notice the difference as they make day-to-day purchases, but they sure will notice the extra levy when their property tax bill arrives. A tax dollar paid is a tax dollar paid no matter its source, but paying a little at a time all year long often seems less drastic and more cash flow friendly.

Finally, Jackson County voters have long understood the fiscal challenges governments face in providing necessary and desired services and in four previous referendums have approved the one-cent sales tax. They’ve considered what the revenue was to go for, decided the projects were worthy and voted to tax themselves to fund them. Today the need is a little different, but the rationale is the same: a sales tax is less onerous, distributes the burden more equally and is more convenient for the taxpayer than other methods of taxation. Getting a 40 percent discount doesn’t hurt a bit either.

SPLOST has been good for Jackson County and its citizens. Hopefully, voters will see fit to renew it Tuesday for another six years.