My former work mom, Helen at Parma Hospital, asked me to get the word out about her son-in-law running for State Senate in Ohio District 23.
Stop by his website http://haren2014.com/ and check him out. Voting is the only way your voice will be heard. Make sure to hit the polls on May 6th.
Issue 7 - Renewing The Sin Tax
The current Sin Tax is set to expire in July 2015. The county is asking that we renew the sin tax for another 20 years. The tax costs 1.5 cents on a bottle of beer, a penny on a glass of wine and 4.5 cents on a pack of cigarettes. It would raise an estimated $270 million over 20 years. The money would go to upkeep and improvements for the 2 major sports stadiums and 1 arena in Cleveland.
I think about it this way, as a landlord I am responsible for the structural upkeep of the buildings. I want to keep the buildings safe, operational, and livable for my tenants. I need to make sure that my buildings are legal and up to code. If a water heater breaks, I'm obligated to replace it. I'm not obligated however to buy a new TV for the house if the old one isn't up-to-date. If it came with the house and is part of the rental agreement, then I am obligated to replace it as it is part of the object being rented.
The original sin tax that was passed to build the new stadiums and arena downtown. The benefits of these buildings to the growth of downtown are evident. Municipal stadium was extremely outdated and beyond repair. The Cavs moving downtown from a different county was a no-brainer. Those projects have been complete for years and now there is no need to renew that sin tax.
Was putting the burden solely on the Cuyahoga county tax payers for these buildings fair when all of northeast Ohio benefits from them? Was the money from naming right deals for our buildings going to the teams themselves and not towards the upkeep fair? Do our scoreboards need to be upgraded when they are obviously not broken? If we don't extend the sin tax, will any of the teams bolt for greener pastures? If First Energy stadium was used for more than Browns home games, would it be more enticing to vote to extend the sin tax? Are you OK with extending the sin tax since taxes don't go up? These questions will be answered on May 6th.
Read up on the issue by clicking on the links below. Make up your own mind. Vote and let your voice be heard!
What do you think? Leave your thought is the comments section.
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