RGF Discusses Alternatives to Carlsbad Tax Hike

I was away for the Labor Day Holiday this weekend and was without internet access and thus not blogging. Summer has reached its unofficial end, so we are back to work and back to blogging.
Last week I weighed in on a tax increase that voters in Carlsbad will face in just a few weeks. This is no minor tax hike, rather it is a 0.5 percent increase in the gross receipts tax rate, an increase from the current rate of 6.8125 percent rate now in place to 7.3125 percent. The money is supposedly needed to pay for repairs to the municipal water system.
The Rio Grande Foundation had previously ranked Carlsbad as the most taxpayer-friendly city in New Mexico, but if this tax hike is passed, that status will undoubtedly be jeopardized. More importantly, as I point out in an op-ed regarding the tax hike, Carlsbad might avoid the tax hike entirely by privatizing its water services. The article was picked up by Len Gilroy on his Reason blog.