Steven Moen, Minot

Minot’s City Council/Park Board are at it again, spending money they don’t have on buildings we don’t need. They are pushing to raise sales tax to pay for this building that a very small percentage of taxpayers will ever set foot into. I think the reason behind this is so certain people can have their name on a plaque inside the building.

The bait and switch of this scheme is the lowering of the Park Board property tax in Minot. They know that property tax is a hot subject and Minot taxpayers won’t stand for it to be raised, for this unneeded project, so why not lower the property tax and replace it with a sales tax that affects everyone who shops in Minot. Put the burden on more people who will never use this unneeded building.

The unconscionable part of the tax hike is that it affects everyone who shops in Minot, whether they are a resident or not, and us nonresidents have no say in this tax hike as we can’t even vote on the issue. A clear case of taxation with no representation! Our founding fathers fought a war over this very issue.

Raising Minot’s total sales to 8% to pay for a building hardly anyone will use is a sure way to detour tourism away from Minot. I know I for one will never buy a vehicle in Minot if this passes. I was stuck with Minot’s sales tax when I bought a tractor from a Minot implement dealer as my address is Minot even though I live at least 5 miles outside of Minot but since my address is Minot I am stuck with it. Lesson learned; shop in a different city. Why not just charge the people who use the building? That would be a novel idea.