The Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted 6-1 yesterday to pass a resolution in support of a 0.4 percent local land transfer tax referendum that will appear on the Orange County ballot May 6. One part of the resolution states:
[T]he advantages of the of the [sic] transfer tax over the property tax are that it will enable owners of property to enjoy increases in their property values without having to pay additional annual property taxes, and that the transfer tax will delay tax payment until owners receive revenue from the sales of their property, thus especially helping elderly people.
During the meeting, former Alderwoman Diana McDuffee called the land transfer tax the most ?progressive? way of funding government projects. She also made a plea for contributions to a new citizen-action group formed to back the tax increase.
Alderwoman Jacquie Gist cast the lone dissenting vote. Her reason:
You talk about it will only affect a small group of people. That means you?re putting the burden for the entire community onto a small group of people, and I don?t know if that is fair. So I?m voting against it for that reason…If the community decides that the community needs and wants more parks and schools, then I think the community as a whole needs to share that burden, not a small group of people.?
Orange County is paying the advertising firm Ballen Media $100,000 in taxpayer funds to purportedly educate voters about the tax increase. The county also spent $10,000 to conduct a telephone survey on voters? willingness to accept either the land transfer tax or a quarter-cent sales tax.
Carrboro leaders have a rich history of passing resolutions, like this one calling for the impeachment of President Bush.
