About those taxes (April 26, 2017)

One of the Town’s pieces of evidence to show it can afford to encumber us with hundreds of millions in debt in order to buy the water company we already have is that it will eliminate the taxes paid by Liberty Utilities. This is a curious position for an entity that survives to a large part on taxes, but there’s a bigger issue here.

If ending the expense of tax payments by private businesses is so important, then why doesn’t the Town simply seize all businesses within its borders, and run them itself? Maybe it could even consolidate all the vape shops into just one, all the tattoo parlors into just one, all the massage parlors into just one, all the auto parts stores into just one, etc. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Wouldn’t that be what they tried in the Soviet Union and Red China before realizing that it was impossible to survive without capitalism?

For that matter, the Town must collect (or at least receive) taxes from various sources. If ending the expense of tax payments by private businesses is so important, couldn’t the Town eliminate or refund all taxes it receives to lower our costs of living?

If you look at the roadways in Apple Valley, you may convince yourself they’ve already taken this step, but only until you look at the monstrosities of the Convention Center, Animal Shelter, Golf Course, and employee payroll. Then you will see what is really important in Apple Valley: Money, money, and more money for the government, with the population getting the scraps.

Greg Raven is Co-Chair of Apple Valley Citizens for Government Accountability, and is concerned about quality of life issues.