Overburdened by tax

The idea of yet another sales-tax increase on top of all the sales taxes we already pay is highly distressing. When you go out to eat, to a movie, or buy something in a store, you are already paying from 9 to 12 percent or even more in sales taxes, depending on where you are.

This may not be a hardship for people who make $50,000 or $100,000 a year, but it directly affects the spending power and the viability of life for retirees like me, whose Social Security income is virtually static.

If the city can’t balance its budget and make needed repairs on its current income, then some rethinking and juggling needs to be done. I for one will not vote for any further tax increases. If you look at the bills for your phone, cable, Internet, and other utilities, you’ll see that we are already overburdened with hidden taxes, extra fees, and all kinds of charges that add double digits to the cost of what we buy and things we can’t do without (water, electricity), but are cleverly hidden so that people are basically unaware how much tax they are already paying the city, the state, and the federal government. I note that a marketing firm has been hired (on our dollar, of course) to persuade the public that this tax increase is a good thing. Please, do not vote for it.

Vote no to the North Little Rock tax increase on Aug. 8!

NANCY BAXTER North Little Rock