March 9th, 2004
Eyman turns to gambling to support his tax cutting habit!
Eyman teams up with gambling intests to justify state property tax cut.

Contact: Steve Zemke
206-366-0811
stevezemke@msn.com

Olympia, WA—Taxpayers for Washington’s Future, along with TaxSanity.org, today filed an initiative with the Secretary of State’s Office to create a Washington State Property Tax Homestead Exemption.

The initiative uses the text of HB 3076 which was supported by 17 state legislators but which did not get passed in the short legislative session.

The initiative was filed both as an initiative to the people and an initiative to the legislature. Supporters noted that there were advantages to going both ways but a final decision have not yet been made.

A Property Tax Homestead Exemption would assist low and middle income homeowners but not give million dollar tax breaks to large corporations and real estate developers like Eyman’s Initiative 864 does.

What is obvious is that the voters and taxpayers need to be aware that there are better solutions to solving the problem of property taxes hurting low and middle income homeowners besides resorting to promoting slot machines and gambling to finance basic government needs like funding K-12 education.

It is obvious to us that Eyman’s flawed and short sighted initiatives to both reduce local and state government funding and constitutionality mandated state support of K-12 education by drastically cutting both local and state property taxes is dangerous.

Depending on gambling revenues to help fund K-12 education is unpredictable as our experience with the State Lottery has shown. Using gambling as a funding source for K-12 education is hardly the example we want to pass on to our children about how to support state education needs.

What’s next from Eyman – legalizing prostitution and taxing it to support higher education? Legalizing hard drugs and using taxes on them to fund our local fire departments and libraries?

Eyman is showing us the libertarian way to run government. Cut local services and jobs to the core as he promotes in I-864 by cutting local property taxes. Cut state funding for K-12 education mandated by our state’s constitution by cutting state property taxes. Believe that these cuts will somehow stimulate the economy and create jobs while jobs and services are being cut.

Promote increased gambling and slot machines as a new source of revenue. Cut taxes and remove individual citizen responsibility for funding basic community and state needs. Everyone for themselves would seem to be Eyman’s moto.

One can only guess but that Eyman is probably not receiving the public support for his property tax cutting Initiative 864 that he needs and hoped for. It now appears that he has turned to powerful gambling interests to help fund his operations and provide him with a big paycheck. Watch the public disclosure records very carefully. See who is really behind this grand new “vision” of Eyman. Watch Eyman going to the bank smiling and laughing.



Go To:
Paid for by MajorityRules.org 2131 N 132nd ST, Seattle, WA 98133