Dear Citizens of Hernando,
While you’re suffering from the worst inflation in 40 years and a looming recession, the City of Hernando is once again proposing a tax increase, which previously failed in 2014 – this time marketed, with thousands of dollars, as “Hernando Coins for Kids” by rich, outside developers.
But don’t be fooled. They are appealing to our hearts as they always try and do. We’ve all heard it before: “It’s for the kids”, “Can’t we afford a few pennies to help the kids?”, “The business will not be hurt.”, “They don’t have to pay the tax, just the patrons”.
It begs the question: when will the “it’s just another penny” end? Here’s a secret: It won’t unless we put our foot down and say enough is enough!
This tax would bring the total sales tax on prepared food in Hernando to a whopping 10% and will add another layer of burden on families and homegrown businesses that are already stressed financially due to record inflation and global uncertainty. Most importantly, it isn’t voluntary, it penalizes small, family- owned businesses, and outside developers shouldn’t decide how much we pay in taxes.
Remember, we are in the middle of Bidenflation, and the average Mississippian is struggling to pay for food and gas. With inflation at 8.5%, and forecasted to increase, and rising costs for household items, now is NOT the time to add another tax.
In fact, according to their own estimates, the city and state are enjoying record budget surpluses due to existing sales tax collections. If that’s the case, we can afford to lower taxes – not raise them!
Why don’t we think about this for a minute and use our heads – not our hearts? Hernando is a smart town, a great town. Let’s keep it that way. Let us be leaders and an example to others in our county, and in our state, on how to properly operate and keep our over-taxing and over-regulating government in check.
We don’t have to levy a tax on small businesses, or anyone else that wants to patronize a business in our town to pay for a new parks system. We can do it (and it has been done) without raising taxes, but it’s going to take some “out-of-the-box” thinking.
I love Hernando. I was born and raised here. My family’s business is here. And I love parks, but I think there is a better way to do this than by forcing our small, family-owned restaurants to bear the burden of anyone playing sports in Hernando. There are many options we can use to make this happen, including fundraisers, sponsorships, soliciting land that can be donated (like Southaven did), selling bonds, etc.
I encourage you to vote NO on November 8th, and then let’s work together as a community and figure out how to build the parks and recreation facilities we want without raising taxes!
Sign the Petition
Sincerely,
