Payson Roundup

Tom_Garrett (Tom Garrett) says…

Phoenix wants to put a sales tax on food?

I have a better idea. Put a bounty on Phoenix politicians.

fred_franz (frederick franz) says…

That's the 1 cent tax proposal, isn't it Tom. I expect that the 1 cent tax will go on everything.
All we need to do is vote yes on it in May.
-Fred

patrandall (Pat Randall) says…

Payson already has a tax on food.
We are way ahead. (:

Tom_Garrett (Tom Garrett) says…

“Payson already has a tax on food.”

Are you sure?

“That's the 1 cent tax proposal, isn't it Tom.”

No, Fred. Guess I didn't make myself clear. This is the City of Phoenix, not the state that wants to tax food. I know it doesn't apply to us; it just seemed an outrageous thing to do.

By the way, the one cent tax increase does not cover food. It covers the same things the old taxes covered.

thechief (Chief Hinton) says…

Payson a couple of years ago was one of three cities in Arizona that has a tax on perishable food. I found that out after I moved here. I think it is 2%. Look on your Walmart receipt next time you shop. Several years ago the State gave cities the right to add the tax if they wanted too. Will Payson wanted too and now they cannot get away from it because they have to have it. I really laugh when I see the weekend folks from the South come up here and buy a truck load of groceries and they don't know that they are being taxed. Now Phoenix can get them too. I use to stop them in the parking lot of Walmart and ask them if they knew it and of course they didn't . I also ask several cashiers in Walmart if they knew it and they didn't either. I ask Kenny Evans to look into getting rid of it and he came back and said the city, Police and Fire depend on it now. In Texas they would hang you for charging for Perishable foods. That is a real burden on retired people but no one cares.

patrandall (Pat Randall) says…

I think there are different rates of tax on you bill at Walmart if you look at it real close.
The only thing I know of in Payson that isn't taxed is prescription drugs.
Oh, and real estate sales. (:
The politicians in the state have tried several times to get a sales tax on real estate.
I think food is taxed at one rate and soap, over the counter drugs, pet food etc. are taxed at a different rates.

SantaBerry (Bernice Winandy) says…

Sales tax is one of the cruelest taxes on low income families because they have to spend a larger percentage of what they earn in order to get the things they absolutely need — like food whereas the wealthy actually spend a smaller percentage of their income to satisfy their needs (not their wants).

However, politicians really like the sales tax concept.

Tom_Garrett (Tom Garrett) says…

There should be no sales tax on food.

On other things, yes. But not on food.

And you can toss prescriptions in there too.

Where I come from in CT there was no tax on children's clothing, school supplies, and other things which directly affect a family, including food of course.

I read a while back that the Governor had proposed a sales tax on labor charges. Did that make it into the state budget? Does anyone know?