Accident tax should be prohibited
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Editor,
Accident tax is prohibited in Louisiana and 10 other states.
We taxpayers of Montana should also insist on this law. The Polson Fire Department is putting an accident tax on everybody involved in their district. This is over and above the mil levy for the fire district. We taxpayers are not allowed to vote on the tax. It is just a way for the Polson Fire Department and fire district to spend over their budget without raising the mil levy which would take a vote of the citizens.
They raised the mil levy just a few years ago by more than 200 percent and they cannot stay within their budget yet. They need to stop spending wildly.
The following are excerpts from the Statute prohibiting accident tax in Louisiana.
“...Whereas, fire, police, and emergency medical transportation services are examples of services for which governments assume responsibility because, despite their importance, such services would be cost prohibitive for nearly everyone if those few who need the services had to bear the full cost of making them available; and
Whereas, recognizing the economic realities of emergency services, the legislature has authorized local governments, which are generally responsible for providing such services, to levy and collect appropriate taxes to finance their provision; and
Whereas, it is not the intention of the legislature that, in addition to the authorized revenue streams, the local government entities or emergency service providers charge additional fees to those who require the services; the point is that these services are public goods that should be made available to the public at large whenever they are needed; they are not private goods available based on ability to pay; and
Whereas, thus the practice of accident response fees and similar fee-for-service assessments that are being implemented in some jurisdictions around the country is not appropriate in Louisiana; and
Whereas, in cases of gross irresponsibility on the part of an individual who requires emergency responder assistance that could have been avoided, perhaps a penalty assessment for the response is understandable, but any general scheme of shifting the cost of emergency services to those who use the services undermines the entire scheme established in state law for funding these critical areas of government responsibility.
Therefore, be it resolved that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby direct all local governing authorities and public emergency service providers to cease assessing accident response fees or any similar assessment against persons utilizing emergency services.”
Roger Rogers
Big Arm
