George Zamary - Tax Rollback

The tax rollback is fueling a great deal of debate. In theory, the rollback is a good plan to provide relief for our citizens who are taxed at one of the highest rates in the state. In practice, the rollback is so small to hardly be useful to our citizens. However, I was raised to appreciate the value of every penny. Even a dime is useful, and if you get enough of them, it can be a fortune. Our hard working citizens deserve the rollback that has been promised to them, even if it’s miniscule in some people’s opinions. Keeping money that was promised to taxpayers in order to fund a deficit created by poor fiscal policy is not something I would tolerate as a member of Council. It goes against everything Council should be striving to achieve: representation and policies that are in the best interest of our citizens. This includes sound use of taxpayers’ money and honoring promises that were made to them.

Additional debate is swirling about how the tax rollback benefits businesses much more than our citizens. A business pays more in taxes than a resident and, as a result, should receive more benefit from the rollback. Keep in mind that the rollback provides an incentive for companies to locate and remain in the City of Cincinnati . These same companies provide jobs for our citizens and pay a significant share of the tax revenue that our city uses to maintain our city infrastructure and provide services to our residents. The rollback, even if it only directly benefited businesses in our area, would still be a good thing for our residents.