City Hall tax increase: welcome to 'The Twilight Zone,' Parkites

(Park Record) The leader of a statewide tax watchdog on Monday called City Hall's desire to raise property-tax rates every other year for the next 15 years the most outrageous tax proposal he has heard of in his 33 years monitoring government finances, predicting the idea will be scorned upon by people on both the political right and the left.

Howard Stephenson, the president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, a Salt Lake City-based nonpartisan group that closely watches tax issues, said in an interview he is unaware of another city in Utah ever considering a property-tax increase that would be as ambitious as the one Park City Manager Tom Bakaly has proposed.

"This is just outrageous. This is 'Twilight Zone' material," Stephenson said. "If people aren't outraged, then we really are in 'The Twilight Zone.'"

He labeled the proposal a "money grab from the taxpayers" and said he expects Parkites will eventually become unhappy with the idea.

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