Yay, someone else takes a turn banging their head on the ground trying to explain that impact fees are not paid by developers.
All taxes are ultimately paid by individuals regardless of where the tax might initially be imposed by government.
And let’s not forget the spending side of the equation, which the local Knight Ridder outlet never, ever mentions. Suppose next year Mecklenburg County starts raking in, say, $20 million a year in impact fees. That’s $20 million the county can refund in other taxes, right? Wait, you mean the county just wants to spend even more than it does now?
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the crux of the problem for 2006. The city and county are both are a spending spree and nothing — not impact fees, not getting illegals out off of relief programs — is going to put a dent in that. Tax and spend. Spend and tax. It has to stop.
