Lots of proposals to raise and create new taxes. Especially from Sen. Taffy Howard.

In case you hadn’t heard about the Comprehensive Property Tax Task Force meeting today, there are a LOT of proposals to raise taxes and create new taxes to offset property taxes. In case you’re looking for a list of proposals that they’re going to be discussing today:

Tax Committee Proposals by Pat Powers

Some of these proposals are kind of off the wall, such as Rep. John Hughes’ proposal to tax rodeo services, mini storage, and water.  What? He wants to tax water? What’s next? Is he going to try to tax air?

Arguably, the person who is proposing more taxes than anyone is Senator Taffy Howard, another water taxer, as you can read in her two proposals for the committee. Just noting one of them:

Proposal V2: Howard

• Reduces, for owner-occupied property, the school district general fund special education fund, and capital outlay fund mill levies to zero, for owner-occupied property
• Increases state sales tax from 4.2% to 4.5%, which will generate $105.3 million
• Increases contractor’s excise tax from 2.0% to 2.25%,which will generate $27.4 million
• Increases the wholesale alcohol excise tax from 2% to 4%, which will generate $3.2 million
• Increases alcohol beverage excise taxes by 25%, which will generate $2.3 million
• Implements a new tax on vaping at 40%, which will generate $8.3 million
• Increases a tobacco products excise tax from 35% to 40%, which will generate $1.7 million
• Increases the tax mill rate on cigarettes from 76.5 to 101.5, which will generate $9.0 million
• Utilizes 33% of the future fund revenues for property tax reduction, which will equal $8.0 million
• Increases the tourism tax from 1.5% to 4%, which will generate $29.2 million
• Removes the sales tax exemption for advertising services, which will generate $41.3 million
• Removes the sales tax exemption for radio and television broadcasting, which will generate $7.2 million
• Removes the sales tax exemption for services performed for rodeos, which will generate $1.5 million
• Applies sales tax to mini storage, which will generate $1.5 million
• Removes the sales tax exemption for the supply of bulk water, which will generate $7.7 million
• Removes the sales tax exemption for membership fees to organizations, which will generate $9.3 million
• Removes the sales tax exemption for social services and credit counseling services, which will generate $12.0 million
• Removes the tax credit to insurance companies for giving money to educational scholarships, which will generate $5.0 million
• Reduces general fund expenditures by 5.07%

So, Taffy wants sales taxes to skyrocket, to tax water & rodeos, social services such as adoption services, vocational rehabilitation, and support for the elderly? And to tax memberships for service clubs and organizations?

I don’t even want to say “good luck” sarcastically. We will see how this goes.