Costly local ballot measures come under fire
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SCC Libertarians oppose what they perceive as wasteful regional housing bond and Sunnyvale transfer tax. From their formal statement, below.
At their April 27 central committee meeting, the Libertarian Party of Santa Clara County (LPSCC) members adopted resolutions against two costly ballot measures likely to appear on local ballots this November.
The nine-county Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) has given approval for the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) to place on the November ballot a $20 billion bond measure, purportedly to support so-called affordable housing — actually subsidies.
Bonds being long-term indebtedness, they require taxpayers to repay the loan, with interest. If approved by the voters, this would apply to nine Bay Area counties, including Santa Clara. So LPSCC adopted this resolution:
[We oppose] bonded indebtedness burdening taxpayers for the building of subsidized housing, in particular any such proposal put forth by a Bay Area regional authority.
Meantime, the Sunnyvale City Council is considering instituting a property transfer tax, likely to mimic a tax imposed by the City of San Jose in 2020. Cajoling voters into imposing laws requiring that a party to a real estate transaction must forfeit a portion of their assets to the city is a Big Government abuse of power that Libertarians condemn. So LPSCC adopted this resolution:
[We oppose] the property transfer tax being considered by the Sunnyvale City Council for placement on the November 2024 ballot.
LPSCC urges voters to reject these measures, should they indeed be cleared for the Nov. ballot, and invites its neighbors throughout Santa Clara County — taxpayers, home- and business-owners, residents — to collaborate in its opposition to these tax increases which will raise the cost of living here and in the greater Bay Area.
More on SCC Libertarians can be found here.
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