TAX FUNDED ORGANIZATIONS PROMOTING TAX HIKE
by Karl Peterjohn

Two organizations that receive sizable amounts of local tax funds are listed as donors supporting the proposal to double the local sales tax for a downtown arena (see KWCH.com web site for the full list). The two organizations are the Greater Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Wichita Sports Commission. In addition, the Hyatt Regency Wichita is also listed as a donor operating this hotel that is owned by the City of Wichita.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau has been receiving over $1.5 million annually in city tax dollars for years while the Sports Commission has been receiving tens of thousands of city as well as county tax funds for its operations annually too.

"Tax funded organizations should not be providing funds for a campaign to raise additional tax dollars," said Karl Peterjohn, executive director of the Kansas Taxpayers Network. "It is outrageous that citizens who have to pay taxes to these two organizations are then facing the prospect that tax funds are being used to promote higher taxes."

"This is particularly outrageous because of the inaccurate claims coming from the downtown arena proponents. The claim that close to 1/4 of sales tax funds will be paid by folks outside Sedgwick County ($40 million out of $184.5 million total) is absurd," said Peterjohn. "This is part of the on-going campaign to mislead the public into accepting this large sales tax hike."

"Since taxpayer funded organizations are supporting this effort, and organizations like the Hyatt Regency Wichita are also listed as donors, it is clear that Sedgwick County voters need to know about the connection between the tax funded organizations that are donating funds in their campaign to double the local sales tax," Peterjohn said. "The amount of funds these organizations are spending to raise sales taxes needs to be disclosed immediately."