vt.Buzz ~ a political blog

Political notes from Free Press staff writers Terri Hallenbeck, Sam Hemingway and Nancy Remsen

2.23.2007

The T word

To give you an indication of just how touchy the word "tax" is around the Statehouse these days, consider this.

House Speaker Gaye Symington ducked her head into the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee to check in with Chairman Robert Dostis late Friday afternoon. Dostis said something like they were firming up the new tax and everything was on schedule to pass out a global warming bill by the end of next week.

Symington couldn't speak because she was choking on the very air she breathed. New tax? There was not supposed to be any new taxes, she sputtered. And there I was sitting in the potential crossfire between them.

Dostis quickly recovered to say it was not a new tax, but a new way of measuring property taxes for such things as wind power projects or biomass plants based on how much power they produce rather than their unknown value. It's supposed to give developers more certainty when planning projects.

Symington relaxed and ducked back out of the room.

- Terri Hallenbeck

posted by vt.Buzz | 7:53 PM |

Comments:

Symington choking on the "T" word...don't believe it for a minute...the majority party is already talking the "additional revenue" speak because their special interest constituents are running the show..just watch who has free access to her office on a daily basis

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:34 PM, February 23, 2007

Of course there will be new taxes! The demos ARE in control, aren't they? The teacher union and other union bosses have to be paid off, the CLF and other "environmentalists" have to be paid off, those connected to the demos have to have new "jobs" created for them, move liberal judges are needed, more crack-pot educational, social, and environmental schemes have to be funded, etc. Earth to Vermont! DUH!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 7:08 AM, February 24, 2007

Ahh Bubba.. Judging by your predictable post, I'm guessing you're a FOX News devotee (got that mantra down pat, don't ya?). You need to remember that the reason states like Vermont are hurting for cash is because your little buddy Bush got us into this quagmire in Iraq. If Vermonters and all Americans weren't shelling out trillions of dollars to finance Bush's bungle, maybe things might be like they were during the Clinton years. You remember those years don't you (try and get past the BJ Bubba, much as that probably excites you.) We had budget surpluses then. Right now, your boy Bush has created the largest gov't EVER and the largest deficit EVER! That's not the Bubba way is it? Here's an idea, pick up your extended family and ya' all pack up the trailer and move on down to Allybama, where like minds choose to colonize. Real Vermonters know how badly your leader has f'ed our country up. You've only got your self to blame Bubba. Be a man and suck it up. Why can't crackers be more open-minded?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 8:37 AM, February 24, 2007

Unless you are a very rich republican you have been had

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:49 AM, February 24, 2007

NEWS FLASH: Taxed is what a majority of Vermonters are. Beyond their means, and no one in Montpelier seems to care. They're all content in their roles using the political spotlight to highlight their own agendas.

Tax may be a dirty word at the state house, but if you mention it to your average Vermonter, you're likely to hear a few more dirty words.

Rednalsi

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:38 PM, February 24, 2007

Yo. Red. Bush cuts taxes for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans and he cuts taxes for corporations. The massive depletion of revenue that those cuts have had means average Vermonters, and everyone else, have to make up the difference. Also, a lot of average Vermonters depend on state and federal programs to make ends meet(maybe even you Red). Is your solution to just hack every program and public service until a financial balance is restored? Bush also threw American taxpayers a nice ka-ching (more money) curve with the debacle in Irag. No other president has ever cut taxes during a wartime period, yet Bush sees no problem with it becuase he's indebted to oil and gas barons (speaking of which, where is that Iraq oil money we were told would fund the Iraq mistake?) Red. Don't believe the hype. Take some time and think about things in real time. Somebody's got to pay to clean up this cluster-f that Bush has created. I'd rather Rich Tarrant picked up the bill. How about you?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 5:21 PM, February 24, 2007

Bush cut taxes for EVERYONE and it has done just what it was supposed to - revive the recesion Bush inherited from the pervert Clinton, who bedded crooks in the Lincold bedroom (notice that none were prosecuted until Bush took over)and let an out of control NASDAQ finally just about bankrupt the stock market and the country! We are fighting terrorists because Clinton and the rest of the traitors (Leahy, Berger, Albright) didn't care when our troops were murdered in Mogadishu, when the first Trade Center bombing happened, when the US Cole was attacked, and on and on. Bush will be eventually judged to be a great President that card about something more than the daily polls and Monica.(By the way, if you get out of Vermont the economy is BOOMING and we have record unemployment as well).

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 7:01 AM, February 25, 2007

Bubba..you are on the mark. Vermont is in trouble fiscally because our current batch in Montpelier seem to forget who's money they are spending. Like the very first post above, it is the "constituents" of the majority party that have so many "wants" that need satisfying...they just can't help themselves....spend, spend, spend. Money for the House Appropriation Chairs school to attend a spelling bee, money to fix a road in the Majority Leaders district when others don't get special treatment. If you're truly worried about state dollars then pay closer attention to how it's being spent

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 7:57 AM, February 25, 2007

Thank God Bubba and his friend here are quickly becoming a very small minority in America. What are you going to do? The lunatic fringe will always exist and close-minded folks like Bubba are the core of that fringe. Even most of their Christian, conservative friends across the country can see through Bush's charade. Just takes some folks longer I guess. True Vermonter logic amd sense will prevail!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:08 AM, February 25, 2007

Vermonter logic? My guess is that you are a flatlander recently transplanted into Vermont. There has been little or no "Vermonter logic" since the Kunins, Deans, Sanders and their ilk took over the state and turned it into the gay, left-wing, parasitic mecca that it has become.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:12 AM, February 25, 2007

Yeah, this ain't the 40s and 50s Bubba. You must progress, believe it or not. Sad but true, and so on. The agriculture economy is of a bygone era my friend. Try to susist on it today, and ya ain't gonna last long. Why. Cause Bush and his corporate buddies rule the agro world now. Mega farms are the rage. At least concede that Dems give a rat's ass about the average farmer. Your GOP friends sure don't They talk a good game, but talk is cheap. If you left Vermont to the "bygone era" Vermonters you treasure, I'm sorry to say, it would be a tough haul. You're always welcome to try though. I don't begrudge you that. A flatlander? Yes, why? Is it the Vermont way to turn away others who might think at least somewhat like they do? Kind of a Pat Buchanon protectionist thing, eh? Like we're the boogie man or something. Are there tranplanted a-holes? Yep. No argument there. Believe it or not though, other states have mountains and agro economies. You'll have to travel outside your comfort zone someday and visit the rest of the world.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:42 PM, February 25, 2007

I guess all of those hydrophobic, drooling retards that bash Bush with the vilest insults every day in the Vermont press can"t be "Real Vermonters", because they sure spew some hateful garbage! What a relief!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 11:15 AM, February 26, 2007

Sorry folks, but every state taxes you about the same. The actual difference between Vermont and any other state is no more than about 1.5%. And of course, federal taxes hit you the same if you live in one of the states.

The whole tax complaint outcry is coming from those far right folks who think there should be absolutely no tax and at the same time think that the government should give them something for free.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:05 PM, February 26, 2007

Symington, Shumlin - both rich
and both want a higher office-
and they are democrats!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:29 PM, February 26, 2007

How does the difference between N.H. and Tennessee with NO income tax come to "no more than 1.5%" against Vermont? Must be the "new math" the liberals invented a few years back. Go look at comparative tax tables of all of the states - income, sales, property, etc. and see where Vermont ranks! (At least Vermont is number one in something!)

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:56 PM, February 26, 2007

Or Bubba could just be making up facts ... which is pretty common among the folks on the extreme right wing.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:35 AM, February 27, 2007

Bubba,

Nice try. Go look at comparative tax tables of all of the states - income, sales, property, etc. and calculate the difference between Vermont and the rest of the states. You will find vast majority are within 1.5% with all but a few outliers within 2.0%.

And while you're looking at the tax rankings, you might want to revist Vermont's ranking, because there is no category where Vermont is number one.

But, take all the tax table information with a grain of salt as the tax comparisons are woefully incomplete and in no way capture the multutide of state, county, local, city, and town taxes. Nor do they account for the vast number of prebates, rebates, licensure taxes, excise taxes, etc, etc. This type of data is too hard to collect.

The reality is that all the states are about the same and, in any case, its not a make or break amount of money.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:08 AM, February 27, 2007

What a phony! Give me the names and e-mail addresses of those tax tables! Liberals in Vermont just hate to admit they have screwed up the state so bad that they can't even address property tax and business climate disasters! So what do they do? Solve Global warming, end the war against terrorism, protect both transsexuals in the state against perceived discrimination, ad nauseum.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 6:08 PM, February 27, 2007

Bubba is tall on anger and short on facts.

(btw, tax tables don't have email addresses.)

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 8:30 AM, February 28, 2007

Vermont?

Try living in Maine where is costs you $1000 per year in excise tax to register your car.

No wonder Maine is the highest taxed state.

I'll tell you one thing, Green energy is gangbusters. 100% yearly growth in wind. Double digit in solar and micro-hydro. Vt company Gro-solar in White River making a power play to become a national brand while securing PV supplies. NRG, internationally known and basically the worldwide defacto standard for wind measurement. And now a new wind /installer provider in Himesburg. Many small green energy companies across Vermont just going gangbusters. And now we are looking at community based projects: An energy townhall/meetup in Montpelier.

Solve Global Warming?

Hell yeah!

Reduce Vermont's usage of foreign oil AND fill Vermont pockets with greenbacks while we're at it.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:13 AM, February 28, 2007

Shumlin is in to all the global
warming talk - how bout the Governors seat for him?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:15 AM, February 28, 2007

Shumlin is in to all the global
warming talk - how bout the Governors seat for him?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:15 AM, February 28, 2007

Shumlin is in to all the global
warming talk - how bout the Governors seat for him?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:15 AM, February 28, 2007

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