Letters to the Editor: 01/13/2010

To the Editor:

Re: "Sisters prepares for disaster," The Nugget, January 6, page 1:

I've been preparing for a large natural or man-made disaster within U.S. borders. Some in the U.S. government, military and various Christian leaders also expect it in the near future.

I've advised family and friends to store up a month's supply of nonperishable food and water and have an alternative cooking-heating-electrical source.

I feel we can do some things for ourselves to survive; this is a commonsense approach. I would hope the local churches and city government would have more ideas.

Chet Davis

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To the Editor:

Your editorial of January 6 had a lot of emotional content but shy on fact. First I will address your defense of those in the top two percent who you feel pay their fair share of the income tax.

Was that an implication that those who are not in the top two percent are not paying enough?

According to the State of Oregon income tax revenues, there are only one percent of those who file tax returns that have incomes over $342,544. That means, according to the Voters Pamphlet, that 99 percent of those households will pay only $863 more in their tax, unless they earn more than $500,000 and then they will pay $8,344 more.

In either case I don't see how the extra tax can be a burden on that kind of income.

People who earn less than $250,000 will see no increase at all. Second, the idea that small business in Sisters may not be able to survive any business tax increase. For most all businesses their tax burden will increase by $150 and about $30 increase in filing fees.

For those C-Corporations the increases vary according to amount of revenue from the business. The first level that probably would affect the largest businesses in Sisters is revenue between $500,000 and one million dollars where the tax is $500.

The next jump is between one million and two million where the tax is $1,000.

I do not know if that increase will cause many businesses to fail here. Perhaps if there is a business in Sisters who will find that they are in trouble over the tax will write a letter to the editor to explain their position.

I found my information from the Voters Pamphlet, the AARP mailing, The Source for January 7, and the Internet from the State Of Oregon.

B. Graham