Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act Signatures Get Verified, Will Appear on December Ballot
Scare Tactics Won’t Stop Voters in December
Nashville, Tenn. – Following the Metro Election Commission’s verification of the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act, a ballot initiative that would roll back Mayor Cooper’s 34-37% tax increase and limit property tax rate increases to 2% every year without approval by a vote of the people, Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee (AFP-TN) State Director Tori Venable issued the following statement:
“Nashvillians now can have their say on this harmful 34% property tax hike. If the government can’t restrain itself, we the people will act to restrain the government. Mayor Cooper’s unrealistic scare tactics won’t work; we look forward to voters proving it at the polls and making their voices heard in December.
“What’s dangerous is the fact some members of the Metro Council are already plotting to reject voters and taxpayers having their voice heard on this issue that will have real consequences for families and businesses. The Metro Council needs to stop looking for ways to force this tax hike on Nashville and focus on addressing the root causes of reckless spending and cronyist taxpayer-incentive deals that put us in this situation.”
Background:
The Beacon Center examined Nashville’s budget in its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report and found: “Every year since 2007, Nashville’s finances have weakened, with its Net Position becoming negative for the first time in 2018, well before the tornado or COVID-19 shutdown.”
Even Mayor Cooper admitted in a questionnaire during his campaign that Nashville needs more fiscal responsibility, saying: “A properly managed city should be able to thrive with a 4.5 percent revenue increase. Metro needs a return to fiscal stewardship. I don’t feel good about asking taxpayers to pay more in taxes when we aren’t properly managing the money we already have.”
