Vote FOR the General Revenue Sales and Use Tax

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Vote ‘FOR’ the county sales and use tax

THE FACTS:
– The tax will fund worker housing and transportation projects. 

– The amount of tax you pay will NOT increase.

– Visitors pay roughly 2/3 of general sales tax.

 

This is not a blank check:

Both the town and county have created a special revenue fund to assure that tax proceeds will be used for transportation and housing. A specific budget structure will allow transparency in tracking the receipt and expenditure of any funds collected as a result of this ballot initiative.

Why doesn’t the ballot language say anything about housing and transportation?
The general sales tax cannot be legally bound to a specific project (hence the restriction on the ballot language); however, the town and county have both passed resolutions committing the revenues from this general purpose tax to the community priorities of housing and transportation.

Will my tax rate increase?
No.   The sale tax rate has been 6% since 1993.

  • Currently there is a 1% Special Purpose Excise Tax (SPET) in place funding the remediation of the West Broadway Landslide.  Funds for this project will be collected by April of 2017.  Once the funds have been collected this 1% tax will cease, dropping the tax rate to 5%.
  • If the General Revenue Tax is approved, then the collections will begin in April, 2017 (once the SPET tax ceases) effectively keeping the sales tax rate at 6%.

Why not SPET?
Both the Housing Action Plan and the Integrated Transportation Plan require ongoing, predictable, and reliable funding. In Teton County, sales tax is the best way of doing this. The general revenue sales tax will fund capital AND ongoing operating expenses. SPET funding will buy you a START bus, but will not pay for the gas, parts and drivers necessary to operate them. SPET funding will build you a house, but will not pay for the personnel to provide proper oversight and management and take advantage of unforeseen housing opportunities.

The community has been asking for real solutions to our housing shortage and traffic problems. We are ready to act, however, we will not be able to without money.

Please vote FOR the Teton County General Revenue Sales and Use Tax.