Letters to the editor, June 15
June 14, 2012 2:46PM
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Updated: July 16, 2012 6:04AM
Those who skirted taxes make it hard for everyone
Serving the taxpayers of Porter County has been a privilege and an experience from which I have learned valuable lessons I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
I have learned many things from the taxpayers in this first year-and-a-half.
One of the most important that stands out is, for the most part, taxpayers are honest and willing to pay their fair shares.
I say “for the most most part” because there undoubtedly is a minority who choose to take advantage of several years of late and inaccurate tax bills.
They did this by paying “what they thought they owed” or by paying nothing at all.
I am not writing this letter to pass blame on what happened in the past. Officeholders serving at the time of the state’s transition to market-value assessing were behind the 8-ball and facing a nearly impossible task.
I’m writing to stress that all of the taxpayers were affected by this whirlwind of government transition, and many — especially small business owners, through no fault of their own — nearly were crushed and still are reeling from their experiences.
Both cheaters and honest folks have been affected.
We can choose to penalize the honest (as we often do when trying to punish the cheater) or we can cleanse the record and start over. This would mean waiving the penalties and interest owed and moving forward.
Taxpayers didn’t create this debacle and, while those who deserve amnesty the least also will benefit, it seems to me that the honest should be our primary concern.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that we can be discriminatory or fair when it comes to granting amnesty.
I appreciate Porter County Council President Dan Whitten’s comments that there will be “spirited debate,” and I hope the public will participate in this dialogue.
I have witnessed firsthand the effects of bad government on good people, and I hope good government will prevail in this circumstance and amnesty will be granted.
Jon M. Snyder
Porter County Assessor
D-Day almost forgotten,
but it’s an important date
June 6 also is known as D-Day.
The anniversary of this very important date has just gone by with nary a special notice by any of the media.
Several thousand young men died while storming the beaches of Normandy — mostly Americans of the Allied forces — basically to save the world from the misled German Army.
At 84, I can well remember D-Day and the thousands of Gold Stars caused by that special day.
Now, it only shows up in the papers as an event under the “this date in history” report.
It may well dissappear from even that lowly blurb in the near future.
James A. McClellan
Portage
