The Economic Development Income Tax debate has everybody talking about taxes these days.

Our letters column has been inundated with anti-tax sentiment.

I would assume the reason there is so much animosity toward this EDIT thing is because people feel they simply are taxed too much.

I would agree. We are taxed too much.

Problem is, the anger is aimed at the wrong target. Much of the criticism of EDIT has come in the form of people saying that our county has squandered tax dollars.

Here's a sample.

If our tax money is being so mismanaged now that our officials aren't able to provide basic services, why would we want to give them MORE money to spend (or to correct their past excesses)?

But local tax dollars haven't been mismanaged. Far from it. This letter writer should know that the county tax rate is the lowest in the state. That's right. In Kosciusko County we have the lowest county tax rate in Indiana.

Warsaw's city tax rate and the tax rates of other towns throughout the county also compare quite favorably with tax rates from similarly sized incorporated areas.

Why do tax rates here compare favorably? Essentially, it's because we have favorable assessed valuation. There is a strong, diversified industrial base and lots of lake property. This higher-than-average assessed valuation allows for lower property tax rates.

Is there any lack of basic services as the letter writer implies? Not really.

The reason Warsaw needs a second sewer plant and the jail needs to be expanded is not mismanagement of public funds. It's growth. Our county has grown. There has been increased development and increased population. Growth requires increased services. But growth helps foot the bill for improvements because it increases assessed valuation.

And, as for the past excesses, frankly that's a little silly. Please give me one solid example of excessive spending by our county government. Of course there is always difference of opinion and room for improvement, but I do not see our county commissioners and council members as careless spenders.

In Warsaw, some very positive things have happened because of economic development. Check out the whole Central Park project. All made possible because of economic development and tax increment financing. The park and all the attractions around it are enjoyed by thousands of residents each year. The impact on tax rates was negligible and no other city services suffered.

And can we please avoid the tired argument that people in the county shouldn't have to pay a tax to fund Warsaw's sewer plant? First of all, it's inaccurate. The money county residents pay into EDIT would go toward county projects. The way the tax is proposed, the county gets the biggest share of EDIT dollars, not Warsaw. Besides, people who live in Warsaw pay county taxes, too. Is that unfair? Should people in Warsaw help pay for a snowplow to run down the road in front of my house south of Syracuse? We're all in this together.

I know that any new tax is unpopular. Frankly, we are taxed everywhere we turn. Federal, state and local income taxes, FICA, sales taxes, gasoline taxes, excise taxes no doubt are a big burden on our incomes.

The biggie, of course, is the federal income tax. That's because there is no end to the nifty new programs politicians come up with for us to fund. There's a program for every constituency. And they all cost money. And none of them are efficient. The dollars get eaten up in Washington bureaucracy before the money ever gets near its intended target.

This gets back to that anger being aimed at the wrong target. People feel powerless to do anything about the rampant spending in Washington so they aim their tax angst at local officials, who really don't fully deserve it.

And anytime anyone in Washington suggests a tax cut, opponents cry that it is just another sop to the rich. Just last month it happened again. A tax cut was proposed. Out came the opponents pointing out that 60 percent of the cut would go to people who make over $100,000 per year and that people making less than $20,000 per year would get virtually no tax cut. That's true. But they also should have mentioned that people who make over $100,000 per year pay more than 50 percent of all income tax and that many people who make less than $20,000 pay no income tax at all.

It's hard to give a tax cut to someone who pays no taxes.

According to the IRS, 7 percent of the individual taxpayers pay roughly 51 percent of the taxes. It's those over $100,000 rich people. Aren't you glad you're not one of them?

The tax burden on the rich has grown in recent years, too. George Bush in 1990 and Bill Clinton in 1993 raised tax rates. The top individual rate, 28 percent in 1990, is now 39.6 percent. So of course any tax cut will be a sop to the rich. They pay the most taxes.

With all this taxing going on and no relief in sight at the federal level, I can understand the frustration of local taxpayers.

But I still think it's a mistake to handcuff local officials who are trying to ensure a bright future through economic development. [[In-content Ad]]