— About Taxes And Tax Reform— Tax Reform in Monroe Co. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 68% Pay Less in Monroe County with the Rochelle-Elsea-Head Plan. (House Bill 1948 and Senate Bill 1920) The Rochell-Elsea-Head Plan is the plan developed and put forth by Sen. Bob Rochelle (D-Lebanon), Sen. Gene Elsea (R-Spring City), and Rep. Tommy Head (D-Clarksville). This plan will lower taxes for 60% of Tennesseans (68% of Monroe Countians) while still raising much needed revenue. Below is a summary of the Plan. Key Aspects of the Rochelle-Elsea-Head It eliminates the state and local food tax entirely, currently at 8.25% in Monroe Co. It completely eliminates the 8.25% sales tax on clothing and non-prescription drugs as well. It replaces the 8.25% state and local sales tax with a lower total combined state sales tax of 7%. It eliminates the Retirement Tax (Hall Tax on investment income). It establishes a graduated personal income tax with generous personal deductions, resulting in lower taxes for 68% of Monroe Countians. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Support for Tax Reform is Growing! 62% in region including Monroe County support tax reform package! In early May, Citizens for Fair Taxes (CFT) conducted one of the largest and most comprehensive polls on public opinion to date. In doing the poll, CFT divided the state into 10 different regions to get a sense of public support from region to region. The polls shows that 58% of Tennesseans (59% in the region including Monroe Co.) now support tax reform like the kind in the Rochelle-Eslea-Head Plan, including elimination of the tax on food, clothing, and non-prescription drugs, the reduction of the sales tax on other items, and the establishment of a graduated income tax which would replace the current Hall Tax. Support for the complete tax reform package including the income tax with mandatory tax rebates (SB 1920 & HB 1948), performance based budgeting, and the Governor's reading initiative, was 62% (62% in the region including Monroe Co.). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strong Opposition to Sales Tax Hike! 85% in region including Monroe County oppose 1-cent sales tax increase. Opposition state-wide is 86%. A 1-cent increase would bring in about the same amount of revenue as the proposed tax reform package above. 78% in region including Monroe Co. oppose 1/2-cent sales tax increase combined with increase in car tag fees. Opposition state-wide is 81%. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Data Source: May 2001 Poll Data from Citizens for Fair Taxes, County-by-County Tax Savings from Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, Local Tax Rates from Tenn. Department of Revenue. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information, contact Tennesseans for Fair Taxation 888-671-5188 | 865-524-4424 | 615-227-7500 | 731-423-6882 On-line at www.yourtax.org or by e-mail at tft@yourtax.org Home |  Main Street Journal 2000  |  Happy Dog Farm  |  Rationally Speaking  |  Site Map  |  Archives  |  Feedback  |  Leonard Earl Johnson  |  Southern Stories   |  Play Games  |  Your Letters  |  NOT Ordinary Links  |  Sports  |  Discussion Forum