Attorney Joey McCutchen announced that Citizens Against Unfair Taxes will hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 14, 2021.
Citizens Against Unfair Taxes is a group opposing the proposed .25% sales and use tax and the .75% sales and use tax within the City of Fort Smith that will be on the ballot on February 8, 2022.
The conference will be held at McCutchen Sexton Napurano -The Law Firm, at 1622 North B Street, Fort Smith.
McCutchen states that .25 sales and use tax was originally a 10-year sales and use tax starting on October 1, 2012 and running for a period of 10 years used for fire department purposes and park and recreation purposes. ]
Now, the Fort Smith Board of Directors has referred this proposal to the people for an astounding 20 year period until September 30, 2042, without any public input and no discussion in the Board’s November 16 meeting.
With regard to the .75 sales and use tax, McCutchen stated, “the City has violated administrative order after administrative order focused mainly on the City’s illegal Sanitary Sewer Overflows for decades and claims north of $900,000,000 total to be paid by Fort Smith residents to comply with the January 2015 consent decree.
Fort Smith residents have been forced to live in dangerous and unsanitary conditions for decades, and now the City Board, without discussion or public input, has foisted upon her citizens in a little under 2 months a February 8, 2022 special election, which will cost the taxpayers at least $150,000,000 over a 10 year period.“
McCutchen and the Citizens Against Unfair Taxes will tell the citizens why they believe a “no” vote is the only vote on February 8 and will tell the citizens what the group proposes.
Arkansas ranks #3 among states with the highest average combined state and local sales tax rates, according to The Tax Foundation, McCutchen said. He added, “The people of Fort Smith are struggling with historic utility rate increases, extraordinarily high and uncertain water bills, and recent millage and property tax increases —in addition to the 9.75% regressive sales tax rate in Fort Smith.”
Attached hereto is a Fort Smith City document styled “Update on City of Fort Smith Efforts to Modify Federal Sewer Consent Decree”.
McCutchen asked, “Can we trust the City with seemingly endless years of taxes with very little accountability?”
