Property values are decreasing all over the country, but assessments are increasing in downtown Waynesville. The reason is, government needs more revenue. Only a hate-speaker would profess a connection between an incentive to work and taxation rates. The Soviet Union did just well with a 100% taxation rate. Just think what America’s green economy could do!
Detractors, like Johnnie Cure, who is described as a free-market advocate and former downtown property owner, claim raising taxes will cause rents to rise, merchants will attempt to recover higher rents with higher prices, and consumers will try to survive on less disposable income and therefore take their business elsewhere. As a consequence, Waynesville sales will contract, forcing some merchants out of the market, resulting in constricted tax collections, and giving hate-mongerers another reason to say, “I told you so.”
One might also note that downtown Waynesville is triple-taxed. Property owners pay county, town, and business district taxes.
