For Immediate Release, September 25, 2006
Cut Taxes Now, Inc. Formed in St. Petersburg
to Protest Rising Taxes
St.
Petersburg - In
response to continuous raising of property taxes by elected officials, citizens of St.
Petersburg have organized a Tax Revolt. Since 2000, property
tax collections have nearly doubled to $103.4 million scheduled for 2007 in the city of St.
Petersburg alone. While the St.
Petersburg City Council claims they have issued the lowest tax rate in 20 years, the fact is that it hasn’t made an
impact on the highest tax collections in City History. Local taxing authorities
such as city councils, county commissions, school boards, fire and water districts are experiencing tax windfalls as property
values skyrocket in Florida. Rather than maintain government spending at traditional levels, these bodies have
looked for new ways to spend money. In St.
Petersburg, the City functioned on about $50 million in property tax revenues per year from 1993-2000. Even though the city had a history of functioning for many years with the same tax
revenue in the past, things changed when they found they could claim to be cutting tax “rates” while actually
increasing tax collections.
Property owners are feeling the pinch. Unlike local taxing authorities
who can simply raise revenue with a vote of a few board members, average citizens can’t double their revenue easily
in six years. The result is rising rents from rental property owners, and increased
consumer costs passed through small businesses who can’t afford more taxes. In
addition, first time and lower income home buyers can’t afford to buy due to the huge tax burden. Elderly or other long term homeowners can’t afford to move and down size to another local house because
their tax bill will skyrocket since the “Save Our Homes” cap is not transportable between houses.
People are taking action. Within five days of an ignored request by citizens
to the City of St. Petersburg to substantially lower the tax
rates, citizens formed “Cut Taxes Now, Inc”. Cut Taxes Now will raise
money to educate the public about rising tax collections and how it affects them. It
will inform citizens of the voting records of elected officials who raise taxes. For
instance, Mr. Kriseman has been on the St. Petersburg City Council for six years and has continuously voted to increase taxes
to the current unfair levels. In fact, on 9/14/06 he cast the tie-breaking vote
to raise taxes by over 11 million dollars for 2007 on a 5-3 vote at the St. Petersburg City Council. “Cut Taxes Now” wants citizens to know about his voting record on taxes and about the official
position of Mr. Thomas Piccolo, who states he wants to lower property taxes (see www.thomaspiccolo.com) .
To help educate voters, angry citizens are organizing a Tax Revolt Rally at St.
Petersburg City Hall October 11, 2005, at 6 p.m. at 175 5th St. North. The Tax Revolt Rally will generate
awareness of the problem and allow residents to demonstrate their dissatisfaction. All
members of the public have been invited to the rally. According to committee Chairman, David McKalip,
M.D., “Elected officials have flown under the radar for too long. They
will only respond to angry voters who are sick of them raising their taxes and wasting their money.”