On second thought, that sales tax isn't so bad ...
That's what our friends at the HPE said recently about the quarter-cent sales tax.
The editorial board there now supports the quarter cent sales tax that they didn't back in May. Our editorial board supported it in May.
But on the first go 'round, the tax failed by a big margin in Guilford County. Now, supporters are getting back out and hope to see it through.
They're pounding on the benefits they perceive would come with the added tax: a revenue stream that's not linked to property tax that would bring about $16 million a year, and a way to pay for school bond debt that's not a property tax rate increase.
Supporters can get behind that point by saying that the Board of Commissioners pledged to use that revenue to pay for the school bond debt with that money in a nonbinding resolution this past summer.
Opponents of the sales tax have said that voters already said no to the tax in May, and that the sales tax would impact the poor more than the rich.
Overall, it means that someone spending $100 would spend another 25 cents in sales tax. And groceries, gas and drugs would not be affected.
The N&R editorial board will run a piece on the sales tax on Oct. 19.
And for others, here's the N&R endorsement schedule.
