Tom Berg calls for Massive GE Tax Increase
by Tom Berg (Excerpt from email to constituents Sept 21, 2011)
When the State Legislature and Governor advanced approval to pass ACT 247 in 2005 for the General Excise Tax (GET) increase- RAIL SURCHARGE, that law prohibited the tax from being used to build roads and bike lanes on Oahu.
Since we know the rail endeavor will not resolve traffic congestion and another hefty tax increase to finish the line to UH Manoa and Waikiki will have to take place, what is being done to actually tackle the problem? Not enough is the answer.
That is why I am proposing Resolution 11-259 to offer the residents of Oahu a choice. I wrote an article to elaborate for your review and comment. In a nutshell, would you favor a new dedicated GET increase of the same amount allocated for rail to be used instead to stimulate and expedite road and bike lane construction?
My position is to offer the motoring public something rather than nothing. Here is a quick snapshot of how inadequate our current methodology for funding roads and bike lanes really is.
The North South Road- Kualaka`i Parkway on the Ewa Plain cost taxpayers over $170 million to build. The State gets $140 million a year total from the federal government for road building endeavors statewide. The amount of money needed for road building is so insufficient that Governor Lingle had to "borrow" - leverage federal funding that we did not have just to pay the workers to finish Kualaka`i Parkway. On top of that, we have bike plan after bike plan that yields next to nothing but talk and a wish list.
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Tom Berg Calls for Massive GE Tax Increase (Sept 17, 2011)
….resolutions introduced recently that could end up back at the Honolulu City Council at a future meeting:
read … Resolutions |