It is my belief that the tax structure the city of Moab is proposing disproportionately puts the financial burden on regular taxpayers. Those that make less than $60k/year and many who make as little as $20k/year or less.
Specific to the city’s proposal where residents through taxes will pay 26%, businesses 59% and second homeowners 11% of municipal expenses. Businesses may be contributing more over all, but many make lots of money off of the resources they impact and services they use. Residents are using many of the same resources and services but to a much lesser degree than the 2-3 million visitors/clients these businesses make their profits from. And residents can’t pass increases in utility bills or taxes on to anyone.
Considering the thousands (millions?) of dollars in income/profits many of the corporations and even some local businesses are making, they are proportionally paying less taxes than I or other Moab residents. Similar to the federal tax system, proportionally the more money you make the less taxes you pay. So, I am paying proportionally more in taxes and for services with regard to my income (and impact) because I don’t have 2-3 million tourists to offset my expenses. I can’t even write my expenses off when it comes to taxes because I don’t make enough money.
Also, our property values are way out of line with many residents’ incomes because the land has become so valuable due to its potential for nightly rentals or the second home market. This is one of the reasons affordable housing is almost nonexistent.
Like our federal tax structure, the math just doesn’t work for most citizens. The government can’t continue to provide basic services and infrastructure to citizens because major profiteers are not paying proportionally their fair share of taxes especially given the resources they use. Resources like clean water, clean air, quiet open spaces and basic infrastructure. These belong to all of us and should not be disproportionately used or abused by a few solely for profit.
It feels like we the residents of Moab are being asked to pay, through increased taxes, for the costs and impacts to infrastructure and city services that 2-3 million visitors are creating and big businesses are profiting from.
I believe I should pay some taxes toward the services and resources I use but it needs to be proportional to how much I use and what if any profit I make off of that use.
Lisa Carter
