I am writing as a member of the Dewey Beach Budget and Finance Committee to urge support for the proposed gross receipts tax referendum in town. The town has had a structural deficit as documented by the committee for many years. Current public safety expenditures exceed $1.3 million. At the same time one set of constituents in our town, namely large restaurants and bars, contribute only about $50,000 to revenues each year.
The town has significant expense needs, including bayside flood control and new town hall space, among others. There is no room in the current revenue stream to pay for these and our reserves have been greatly reduced over the past six years. The revenue has to come from somewhere and one of the most significant constituent groups who both can and should pay more are the large businesses in town.
Our proposal provides confidentiality to the businesses so that no one will be privy to their private information, and a small business exemption to ensure that ‘mom and pop’ sized businesses are not adversely affected. The proposal is a referendum to let the voters decide for themselves if they want this tax on large businesses. I urge Dewey voters to ask their commissioners to allow the people of Dewey to make the choice themselves.
David Jasinski
Dewey Beach Budget and Finance Committee
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
