Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
 We all expect politicians to ride the fence when beneficial to their positions, but its funny how much the Enquirer and friends have failed to really outline the position of anti-tax advocates like Tom Brinkman in regards to the Heimlich Jail Tax proposal. Yesterday’s CityBeat Blog came closer to making the point—but where are the direct questions to people like Brinkman (and his responses) concerning the issue of this increased tax?
So we asked Brinkman about his support for the Heimlich Jail Tax. “I, Tom Brinkman, have never stated that I was going to vote for this. Never,” writes Brinkman in an email to The Cincinnati Beacon. “A lot of folks throw COAST’s name and my name around. I do not even read the stuff anymore because it is irrelevant.”
But what about the media’s record of Brinkman’s apparent support for a new tax? Even Phil Heimlich’s campaign page includes an article with this passage from Brinkman:
“This is not a sales tax increase. It’s a property-tax reduction,” said Brinkman, founder of the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes, or COAST. “Our goal has always been to keep (government) spending at the rate of inflation or lower - and we get a jail out of it.”
Brinkman’s response was once again straightforward: “I do not see the ‘I’ in that quote, as in ‘I support’ or ‘I will vote for.’ I do see ‘Our (COAST’s) goal has always been to keep spending at the rate of inflation of lower.’ This is a true statement of COAST’s goal and the criteria that I think (although it has changed since then) the plan met. Once again, I have NEVER voted for a tax increase. NEVER. It is my intention to utter those words until the day I die.”
Today’s Enquirer has this story by Kimball Perry, which is strange in that it includes some facts damaging to Heimlich’s position, but it gives Heimlich the final word (allowing him to spin the circumstances towards his favor). However, the numbers provided demonstrate some of the questions Brinkman has about the changed, and shortened, plan:
The tax increase would generate $325 million to pay for a new 1,800-bed jail and $30 million in property tax reductions. Under the plan, the sales tax would increase from 6.5 percent to 6.75 percent for 10 years; the property rollback would last three years.
The rollback would save the owner of the average-priced Hamilton County home $86.29 in reduced property taxes over three years.
But it would cost each Hamilton County household an estimated $154.62 in additional sales tax payments over the same three years. So the average property owner will be paying more taxes, despite the property tax rollback—and additionally non-property owners will get hit with substantial new taxes. No wonder Brinkman can’t vote for this proposal with a clear conscience. But look what Perry throws into his article near the end:
“We are giving the money back to property owners in multiple ways,” Heimlich said.
The goal is to live up to a 2003 pledge commissioners made to keep taxes under the rate of inflation.
“Without the rollback, we would be breaking our pledge,” Heimlich said. Precisely how paying more taxes keeps the pledge is not made clear. Perry offers no explanation about how the tax rate compares to the rate of inflation.
While those details may still need to be made clear, one thing is certain: Tax-Killer Tom Brinkman does not support the Heimlich Jail Tax plan.
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