Why I am voting against SPLOST

Published 2:48 pm Monday, October 30, 2023

Even though the phrase “A penny saved is a penny earned” is often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, those were not Franklin’s actual words. “A penny saved is a penny earned” is a modern day translation of Franklin’s maxim published in the 1737 Poor Richard’s Almanac which stated, “A penny saved is two pence clear.” Franklin understood that a penny saved from an unwise expenditure is equivalent to “two pennies free and clear from debt.” Similarly, Andrew Carnegie is known for his maxim, “Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.” These two truisms should guide voters as they cast their ballots in the upcoming election on the extension of the county SPLOST.

Local politicians have convinced the general public that penny taxes are harmless to the taxpayer when in reality local sales taxes have become an avenue for transferring a disproportionate amount of revenue from senior citizens, the working class, and those living in poverty to the government for wasteful spending.

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Local sales taxes started out as a one cent LOST (Local Option Sales Tax) that was intended to lower property taxes and has since grown into a current total of three percent local taxes through a combination of the LOST and two additional one-cent taxes, a county SPLOST and the E-SPLOST that is shared by the local school systems.

The first clue that the voter should note is the misnomer in the name of “SPLOST,” Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. These taxes should be renamed the Superfluous (unnecessary) Perpetual Local Obligation Sales Tax.

These taxes originated to be used for “special projects” such as the construction of a new court house or the construction of new schools, but elected officials have stretched the definition of “Special Purpose” to include almost every traditional government function such as the maintenance of roads and numerous pet projects such as the purchase of excessive and over-sized fleet vehicles, recreation and athletic structures, and numerous other pet projects. Rather than using the “Special Purpose” tax to fund actual special projects that might come along every 20 years or so, local governments have transitioned these once “Special Purpose” taxes into their core operational programs, enabling wasteful spending.

Both the county commission and the local school boards have come to take for granted that they can twist the arms of citizens to pass these once Special Purpose taxes with the threat that to do otherwise will result in property tax hikes. In the case of the E-SPLOST, Option has already been replaced with Obligation as the City School Board has incurred debt based on the assumption that three future E-SPLOSTS will be approved to pay-off the debt. One can only anticipate that the county school board will soon follow this example with its own debt package that will further obligate tax payers to perpetual sales taxes.

The recent spike in inflation has resulted in a windfall in sales tax collections for all of the government entities. Why not use this windfall to give taxpayers a reprieve from at least one cent of local taxes until the economy cools down? Moreover, excessive government spending feeds the inflationary cycle and drives up construction costs to the private sector.

In a recent Times-Enterprise article, the county manager noted that citizens get to approve the SPLOST by imposing the tax upon themselves at the ballot box. If that is truly the spirit and intent of local politicians, why is it that both the county commission and the school boards select SPLOST referendum dates when the turn-out is expected to be low? The SPLOST is the only question on the ballot for county citizens in unincorporated areas, and most citizens do not even know that the question is on the ballot. SPLOST elections are frequently slipped in during low turn-out cycles so that the few people who will benefit from the taxes (primarily employees of the local governmental units) vote and impose the tax on everyone else.

The proponents of sales taxes who argue that the tax is fair because everyone (not just property owners) pay it, fail to point out that local option sales taxes apply to groceries that are exempted from the state sales taxes. Lower income families spend a disproportionate percentage of their income on necessities like groceries and therefore pay a higher percentage of their income into sales taxes than do higher compensated families who spend or invest higher percentages of their income on things that are not subjected to local sales taxes. A family that spends an average of $200 per week on groceries will pay over $300 per year in local sales taxes just on the food that they eat. Those pennies add up just like Franklin said. It is time for citizens to rethink these one-cent taxes that are adding up to real money!

Finally, Thomas County Commissioners have not proven themselves worthy to spend tax dollars wisely. Commissioners who got their feelings hurt over a spirited conversation about the humane society decided to use property tax money to build an unneeded animal shelter in order to avoid coming to terms with the Thomas County Humane Society that had functioned as a good value to taxpayers for many years. Commissioners who let pet peeves control them don’t deserve more of our money.

It is time for voters to give themselves a break from inflation by pausing the unnecessary renewal of the SPLOST. If the tax is really needed, the commission needs to make their case to the voters at a future election when a reasonable turnout is expected. For now, I am voting “NO!” on SPLOST.

-Nicholas Pennyworth