Streamlined?

In the latest version of the same old story — this one or, to a lesser extent, this one — sales taxes are down all over, and I'll include Rogers. A small increase is a loss compared to the big jumps it was getting.

Can we finally call the streamlined sales tax a failed experiment? Sure, most of these cities that are facing wild inconsistencies in sales tax revenue could benefit from simply removing the tax cap for businesses. (You see, individuals must pay tax on our full purchase, no matter how high, but businesses can stop paying taxes once their purchase hits $2,500. It's five paragraphs into this story, proving it was no surprise.) But that does not explain Springdale. It's easy to laugh at the city that caused its own downfall by chasing Sam's Club out of town, but that doesn't explain the near constant drop in sales tax revenue.

Here's the real problem. In hopes of encouraging a national mandate for Internet sales tax, Arkansas joined a growing, but misguided, group of states who have instituted the streamlined sales tax. This contingent charges taxes based on where a sale ends, not where it begins. To make it simple, if someone in Little Rock buys a product from Springdale and has it shipped to Little Rock, the Little Rock taxes apply and Little Rock gets the money. The buyer is taxed based on where he or she is, not where the item begins.

That means anything shipped out of state is not taxed.

Imagine if this was reversed. A purchase that originates in Little Rock with a company in Springdale is hit with Springdale taxes and Springdale gets the money. Replace Little Rock with Dallas. And now with Ontario. And with London. At that point it doesn't matter where the buyer is, because the purchase takes place where the business is. (In the aftershocks of this realization, state legislators would barely notice that merchants would then only have to follow one tax rate instead of all of them.)

Businessmen and women around Arkansas will slowly realize this and begin a financial revolution within this state. Of course, this could all be ended simply by common sense action at the General Assembly ... or a miracle, whichever is more likely.

Quick thoughts

Why have there been so many stories in The Morning News about Rogers Little Theater lately? Is it because editor Rusty Turner is also on the theater's board? There's almost as many of those stories as there are front-page stories about Crystal Bridges in the Benton County Daily Record. Well, not quite that many. We can't think of any logical reason that may-never-come museum is always at the top of A-1.

Priorities

It is the duty of the City Council to protect the interests of the city, but too often, special interest groups interfere. It seems that fate has befallen Rogers.

Councilman Bob Goodwin (or, in the original Morning News account, Rob Goodman) has broken ranks with his fellow elected officials, a sign of outside influence interfering with his judgment.

The group that has apparently purchased Goodwin's vote is the Rogers taxpayer. There is no other way to explain his concern, expressed during the city's June 9 council meeting, for finding less expensive alternative to maintain and improve the intersections and roadways of downtown Rogers.

The seven other council members understand the value of unity, as a whole in favor of continuing the project. The validity of the project is not in question, rather the speed at which the city's leaders latch on to the first proposal that comes their way. Any delay could cost the downtown business owners days or even weeks of delay as other ideas are considered.

The downtown business owners are also right to back this proposal unquestioningly, as the absence of any meaningful customer traffic is certainly the fault of those historic brick intersections.

Even if drawn out discussion would have resulted in the same conclusion, the undermining of resident confidence by working to ensure their interests are protected would only jeopardize the residents' interests.

But it seems Goodwin is finally coming around. After listening to the merchant's support of the intersection proposal, Goodwin refused to comment to the daily record, which can only mean he is succumbing to the group thinking. It will be a proud day in Rogers when projects like this can be approved and completed without any delay for discussion, no matter how good other ideas may be.