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Originally Posted by brete
Now what Newman and semi-native may mean is we are too reliant on a single source for a large chunk of our sales tax base.
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That's not quite what I am saying, but it is not an important enough issue (to me) to warrant a long, drawn out discussion.
Suffice it to say that the city's obsession with retail and failure to attract other jobs, protect neighborhoods and property values, and attract more homeowners doesn't sit well with me, for many, many reasons.
I would point out that within our proposed 2009 budget it says:
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Consistent retail sales have kept this revenue stream steady for the past several years. It is important to note that sales tax revenues are a volatile funding source and are subject to shifts in local, state and national economies. Our reliance on this revenue source is approached with caution.
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48% of our proposed 2009 budget comes from sales tax. In Austin, it is 26%.
Call me crazy, but 26% feels better to me. The retail sector can be scary and the rising cost of oil can easily put a damper on plans to travel to the Outlet Malls from all over creation, even if the retail sector is doing fine.
This is not to say I want less sales tax. I want more income from other sources to balance it out. It's not like all that extra sales tax is gravy, we don't have enough money to get everything done as it stands now. If the sales tax numbers drop (and eventually, they will), we're in trouble.