Dear Editor:
Real estate taxes are assessed against buildings and land. This may be fairly equitable for owners of homes only, but it is a large and disproportioned overhead expense for farms that require land holdings for crop production and buildings for livestock and equipment. It is also a fixed-overhead expense for other industries as well.
Approximately 40 years ago the state authorized income taxes for local government entities to meet the needs of personal service programs that are typically 80% salaries.
The concept has worked for our school districts where income taxes pay for employees’ salaries and benefits; and real estate taxes are used to build and maintain buildings.
I can only support a government EMS program if it is funded by an income tax or some form of household fee tax. Hence, my vote is ‘NO’ on the current 3.5 mill proposal.
Marvin Dietsch – Edgerton, Ohio
