The release of recent poll findings that people would rather tax themselves than have wealthy corporations pay raised eyebrows all over the South Bay. TLH consulted several pollsters who all expressed doubt about this finding.
The poll was commissioned by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG) and the Bay Area News Group and conducted by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3). Could it be that the SVLG would rather see regressive sales taxes instead of a tax on big corporations? Certainly, many people would think to ask that question… but not, apparently, the Mercury News (a Bay Area News Group paper), which printed the SLVG’s messaging under the headline “Hit Bay Area Employers with a Per-Employee Tax? Residents Say No.”
According to TLH’s polling experts, FM3 designed their poll to get an answer that fit the interests of the SVLG’s tech corporation members.
For instance, people were asked about either a “one-cent sales tax increase” or a “50 billion dollar general obligation bond and a zero-point-four percent gross receipts tax on the total revenues of local businesses.” Obviously, the first option, a regressive tax, sounds simpler and less expensive than the progressive alternative.
People were also asked about their willingness to tax businesses for “general City services.” Obviously, people don’t support taxes when they don’t know what the money is for. No city would ever put a tax measure on the ballot to fund “general City services”. Police, fire, street maintenance, yes. “General City services”? What does that even mean?
TLH’s political insider readership are left to ponder this critical question: Does FM3 hang a red light over the door to their offices or do they just go by word of mouth?
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