It's Even Worse!
Yesterday, I growled that Arlington County government was digging ever deeper into the wallets of Arlington taxpayers, noting the tax burden had grown from 8.4% in 2004 to 9.7% in 2007.
With a bit more research, taxpayers can look back two more years, to 2002. The additional numbers for taxes come from page B-33 of the Manager’s proposed FY 2007 budget. Consequently, below are the tax burdens, i.e., taxes as a percentage of per capita income, for the six years from 2002 through 2007:
- 2002 -- 7.01%
- 2003 -- 7.73%
- 2004 -- 8.40%
- 2005 -- 9.11%
- 2006 -- 9.83%
- 2007 -- 9.70%
Talk about “growing government.” Was Henry Ward Beecher, the 19th century abolitionist and clergyman, right when he said, “The worst thing in this world, next to anarchy, is government?"