dcraelin
VIP Member
- Sep 4, 2013
- 2,553
- 136
- Thread starter
- #61
The Cobb stadium is NOT being built with tax-exempt bonds.
Cobb County will pledge $14 million up front in transportation improvements and $10 million from the Cumberland Community Improvement District, a self-taxing commercial district overseen by local business leaders.
The county will finance the remaining $276 million by issuing revenue bonds. As for repaying those bonds, here are the bullet points. Remember, each figure is the annual cost over 30 years.
$400,000 from a new rental car tax.
$940,000 from the existing hotel/motel tax.
$2,740,000 from a new hotel/motel fee in the Cumberland CID.
$5,150,000 from a property tax increase in the CID.
$8,670,000 in relocation of existing Cobb County property taxes.
While the majority of Cobb County residents won't be paying any additional taxes to fund the Braves' stadium, a large amount of their existing tax payments will cover for the costs.
Because there are no new taxes here outside of the self-taxing CID, the County Commission can approve the proposal without a countywide referendum.
I can almost 100% guarantee that the "revenue" bonds are tax-exempt, that is how these parasites operate. Also if the"revenues" (i.e. taxes) cant pay off the debt there are probably provisions that come after the county's general fund.
My guess is that the so called "community Improvement District" is a type of TIF district, a type of subsidy dreamt up in California and finally rejected there after years of abuse. Part of their usefulness to crooks in local governments is that they mask the very real debt load on the taxpayers and also, thru legal chicanery, help avoid referendums of projects manipulators fear will lose.
This is what a revenue bond is, and the fact that the Federal govenment doesn't get a cut is a plus. They may even be exempt from state taxes, which would be another plus.
Revenue bonds: Principal and interest are secured by revenues derived from tolls, charges or rents from the facility built with the proceeds of the bond issue. Public projects financed by revenue bonds include toll roads, bridges, airports, water and sewage treatment facilities, hospitals and subsidized housing. Many of these bonds are issued by special authorities created for that particular purpose.
You may notice that because of the location of the stadium near the Cumberland Mall complex, there will be a much larger demand for rental cars and hotel rooms when the Braves have their games. Those are sources of taxes that will pay for the bonds.
"This is what a revenue bond is, and the fact that the Federal govenment doesn't get a cut is a plus."
You must have studied up a bit after making this statement "The Cobb stadium is NOT being built with tax-exempt municipal bonds that are then sold to investors. They are issuing revenue bonds as explained below. "
The fact that the Federal government doesn't get a cut means that pressure to raise YOUR federal taxes goes up, or the burden on your grandchildren does.
Your definition of revenue bonds leaves out the taxes that your post said were going to be used to pay off the bonds. The definition is how revenue bonds SHOULD be structured, and were assumed to be structured to bypass referendums. The only revenues that should be used to pay off the bonds are ticket sales to braves games.