CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The debate is heating up as voters prepare to vote next Tuesday on raising the sales tax to fund arts, parks and teacher pay.
Voters will be asked if they favor raising the sales tax a quarter-cent to 7.5%
“Kids who are exposed to art do better,” said Valecia McDowell, the Chair of the Arts and Science Council.
If the tax hike passes, the arts would get the bulk of the money, some 45% or about $22.5 million.
County Commissioner Pat Cotham, who opposes raising the tax, says that’s too much.
“I just don’t think that the default for a non-profit that has not been successful in fundraising should be the average taxpayer,” Cotham said.
McDowell argues that the arts are not more important than affordable housing or jobs, but are just as necessary.
“This is one tool that we can use to help from an economic perspective, from a community-building perspective, to move our community forward,” she said.
City Council member Tariq Bokhari says he is opposed to the tax but says that doesn’t mean he is against the arts.
“But the County commission has simply thrown together a last-minute case to the voting public to spend money and thrown money at it without an actual plan,” he said.
If the measure passes it would mean you would spend a nickel for every $20 spent.
A similar attempt to raise the sales tax in 2014 failed 61% to 39%