Reassessment, less net pay had effect on voting

To the editor:

The Cape Girardeau mayor plans to ask residents why they didn't vote for the tax increases on the April ballot. I am not a Cape Girardeau resident, but I am a concerned business owner.

I can give four reasons:

1. Property is reassessed every two years. The last reassessment produced sticker shock for many home and business owners. Not knowing what this year's reassessment will bring makes everyone wary of committing to new taxes.

2. Many businesses were hit hard with increases in health-care premiums that were passed on to employees, reducing their disposable income. Taxpayers with less take-home pay and the possibility of local tax increases reacted in their own self-interest by voting no. The National Federation of Independent Businesses reports that health-care costs have passed taxes as the No. 1 issue facing small business leaders.

3. The most talked about issue out of Jefferson City for the past two years has been our burgeoning state budget. The governor has pushed for a tax increase while politics leaves taxpayers in limbo.

4. Earlier this year, it was reported that a county tax increase might be have to be considered in the not-too-distant future.

My great-grandfather always told us that a man was a fool to go to the polls to vote himself a tax increase, because once it passed, it was there forever. This has come to pass several times in my lifetime, and his words are true to this day.

BILLY BESS

President

Bluff City Beer Co.

Cape Girardeau