Argument Against Palo Alto Utility Tax – Measure C


As a taxpayer, you pay for services provided by the City via a number of different taxes, one of them being a Utility User Tax.

As an individual, if you want a service or product, you would expect to have to pay for it with your money.

Being a person of good conscience, you wouldn’t force anyone else to pay for the goods and services you want.  Right?

And you wouldn’t hire someone else to steal money to pay for those goods and services.  Right?

But, isn’t that what a Utility Tax essentially does?

Through taxation, aren’t you hiring someone (government agents) to force other people to pay for goods and services you want?

And if it is wrong for you as an individual to take money from others, against their will, isn’t also wrong to hire someone to do essentially the same thing on your behalf?

The Palo Alto Utility User Tax wants to increase the tax on “someone else” so they can continue to provide you with services you presumably want, i.e. police, fire, libraries, etc.

They want to charge commercial customers a higher rate.  But, all businesses have to pass all costs of doing business onto their customers, either locally here in Palo Alto or to other customers from around the world.

So, taxes on businesses are just a hidden tax on their customers, including you.

The proponents say “The telecommunications portion of the total UUT revenue is $2.8 million annually or nearly 2 percent of the general fund revenue”.

Do you think there’s more than 2% waste in the City Government’s operations?

If so, lets defeat this “hidden” tax increase and send a message to the City Council to cut at least 2% fat from their bloated budget.

The Silicon Valley Taxpayers Associations recommends a NO vote on Palo Alto Measure C.



© 2024, Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association | 760 Newhall Drive, no. 1150, San Jose, CA 95110 | www.SVTaxpayers.org | 408-279-5000
Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software