Measure “V” – Vote NO
Measure “V” is a new business tax on those businesses that transport, manufacture or store and type of fuel product. The city wants you to believe that this wont effect gas prices because its not being applied to Service Stations. When has anything ever happened to fuel companies where we didn’t feel it at the pump? As of 7:41 on 10/25/12 the cheapest gas in Rialto is 3.99 a gallon according to gasbuddy.com go to Fontana and the price drops 10 cents a gallon, go to San Bernardino and the price drops 18 cents a gallon (keep in mind San Bernardino has a higher sales tax than Rialto and the price is that much cheaper) and in Colton the prices are 5 cents lower than Rialto. Can we afford to pay more money to fuel up in our own city? Why are we the closest to the gas tank farms and we pay the most?
The San Bernardino Sun did a peice on this measure and I found some intresting parts to their story:
Anti-tax groups say the measure, like similar tax votes on ballots throughout the state, is nothing more than elected leaders putting the burden of past bad policy-making on taxpayers today. Kris Vosberg and the Howard Jarvis taxpayers association say, ” What we are seeing throughout the state is cities are nickle and diming the taxpayers to death because they’re finding in the down economy they cant afford the commitments they’ve made to the goverment employees” Vosberg said.
Major oil companies like Chevron & Arco BP operate at the Fuel Tank Farm and Kinder Morgan owns majority control over tank farms property.
If Measure “V” passes companies that manufacture, store and distribute petroleum products will pay 1,500 for each 250,000 increment in gross receipts.
Vosberg said that taxes like measure “V” can have a dampening effect on the targeted industry. This means that these companies can slow their use of our tank farms or even abandon them altogether. With gas prices already at all time highs how can we even think of raising our rates, to assume that these companies will forgo passing the tax along to consumers all over the Inland Empire is a blind way of thinking.
Even a spokesman for the Sacramento based Western Based Petroleum Association Tupper Hull. He said its a hard sell on passing taxes in reference to fuel since we have experienced constant interruptions and market fluctuations that have caused prices to skyrocket.
In California 87 cents of your gas price is taxes. This doesn’t include any county or city taxes these are just the federal and state taxes. This is the main reason we say vote “NO” also we don’t like the impression that the city is sending that if you don’t vote yes our fire and police services won’t be safe.
Sorry just like we told Jerry Brown you can’t hold our children, public safety or roads hostage anymore.
rialtonow 