What is "Raising Taxes?"

Here's why what some in the media call a tax increase is really NOT a tax increase, it is not us "Raising Taxes!" 

It is being reported today in the press that the Board of County Commissioners "Raised your Taxes" at last night's meeting.  This headline is inaccurate.  This headline is a misleading product of the TRIM (Truth in Millage) disclaimer the state dictates local taxing authorities like Escambia County use.

Here is the TRUTH:

We kept the total millage rate for all Escambia County Property Owners static--the same RATE as last year.  We did not RAISE the RATE--which in my opinion would have constituted a TAX INCREASE.  but we did not do that--we kept the rate static.  In 13 years in public office, I have never once -ever-voted to increase the year over year millage rates on Escambia County Taxpayers.  Never once.  I did not do this last night either.

We DID NOT raise the millage rate, or the amounts collected for Fire MSBU, the Sheriff's MSTU, or the Library MSBU.  All amounts are the same as last year's amounts.

But in the esoteric, weirdo world of how the legislature knee-caps local governments with their constant machinations--under this scenario only--the state considers keeping millage rates static while the tax roll increases as "raising taxes."

But I do not believe I raised taxes by the actions I took last night.

Here is why.

Consider these simple examples to illuminate the truth:

Scenario A:  Assume you made $100,000 in income in 2018 and the IRS taxed you at 36% and you paid $36,000 in taxes that year.  If in 2019 you made $125,000 and the IRS held your tax rate steady at 36%--and you paid a little more Income tax in 2019 due to the fact that your income went up--would you consider that situation as the "IRS raising your taxes?"  (here is a hint:  uh, of course not--you paid more, because you made more)

But better yet, though, ...ask yourself this:

Scenario B:  Assume you made $100,000 in income in 2018 and the IRS taxed you at 36% and you paid $36,000 in tax.  If in 2019 you had a bad year and only made $50,000-----but the IRS demanded the same amount of gross tax dollars from you that you paid in the previous year and therefore raised your TAX RATE to 72% so that you would, indeed, pay $36,000 as you did the year prior-----would you consider THAT a TAX INCREASE?  (here is a hint:  uh,  HELL YEAH!)

But guess what?  In the Twilight Zone of Tallahassee Bureaucratic Gobbledygook--Scenario A, if applied to the County and our millage rate--constitutes a TAX INCREASE  but scenario B---if applied to a county's millage rate increase year over year--would not be considered a TAX INCREASE!!  No joke, no kidding I am not making this up.  I can't make this stuff up.

And of course the media buys right into this, never looking past the TRIM notice, never digging


deeper and taking a commonsense look at this.  NOPE.  Just a simple  "Look, they raised your taxes!!!!"

So in 2006 when I became a school board member in Escambia County, the State's Budget was a huge $67 Billion Dollars.   Fast Forward to 2019--and the State's Budget exceeds $90 Billion--an increase of $23 Billion!!  And guess what the Red Meat Republican Legislature will say to anyone that asserts that they "Raised Your Taxes?!?"

They will look you in the eye, angrily, and say "We don't raise taxes, we cut taxes, and we neither raised new taxes nor the rates on existing taxes---the budget increase is due to Growth of the Tax Base!"

(But they don't send their constituents trim notices saying they "raised taxes" though.  Nope.  They reserve that for the local guys like us--see the double standard there?)