(Alexandria, VA) -- Today,the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU) launched its 2011 General Election Ballot Guide: The Taxpayer’s Perspective. The guide covers 12 states that will consider 24 statewideand over 800 county, city, and local initiative and referendum measures dealingwith fiscal policy. Though odd-year elections do not receive the attention andpageantry of Congressional and Presidential races, taxpayers will decide thefate of billions dollars when they step into voting booths this November.
“Stateand local ballot initiatives are often the votes where individual citizensexercise their greatest influence, truly demonstrating the will of the people,”said NTU State Government Affairs Manager Brent Mead. “The NTU Ballot Guide provides an invaluableresource for educating voters on the wide range of initiatives they will faceon Election Day.”
NTU’s Taxpayer’s Perspectivedoes more than just list the issues that voters will face; it also analyzeswhether each measure is likely to expand or limit taxes and the size ofgovernment. For example:
- Thelargest tax hike proposal this fall is a measure that would raise taxes by $532million per year in Colorado. Corporate income tax and personal income taxrates would increase from 4.63% to 5% and the state sales tax rate wouldincrease from 2.9% to 3%.
- Ohiowill be the busiest state overall with close to 500 ballot measures. They havetwo major votes with national implications. The first is a referendum on thestate’s landmark collective bargaining reform, and the second is a repudiationof the individual mandate in the federal health care bill.
- The state ofWashington will have the opportunity to privatize state liquor stores and securegas tax funds so they can only be used on transportation projects.
While these statewide measures willlikely dominate post-election headlines, there are also hundreds of local debtand tax measures on ballots as officials attempt to patch budget holes by demandinggreater sacrifice from taxpayers.
“Despite the disproportionate coverageof horse-race politics, it is voters that will have the final say on billionsof dollars this year,” Mead concluded. “Our BallotGuide gives them a comprehensive educational tool to better informthemselves of their own power.”
NTU is a non-profit, non-partisan citizen groupfounded in 1969 to work for lower taxes, smaller government, and economicfreedom. Note: NTU’s 2011General Election Ballot Guide: The Taxpayer’s Perspective is availableonline at www.ntu.org/ballotguide. An analysisof ballot measure election results will be published after November 2.