Church wants $24.5 million from Atlanta Falcons for new stadium site

SB Nation ^ | Jun 21 2013, 11:04a | Jason Kirk

[from occupied ga]

So your argument is that because some of the tx burden is shifted to out of towners, this is a good thing? If so I disagree. Taxes are never beneficial to anyone except the select few who are on the govt payroll or who can expect to get some of the pelf. Every dollar in hotel motel TAX that is collected from out of twoners is a dollar NOT spent in some local merchant's store. COnventioneers don't come with an infinite supply of money, the come with limited means just like anyone else, and when they have to disgorge for some egregious 10% tax, the that same money is gone from the pool of available funds.

Also remember that convention planners shop competitively, and cost is definitely a factor. Adding a local extortion to the hotel charge will lead convention planners to shop around for the most competitive overall rate and that might not be ATlanta.

Therefore the taxpayers of Georgia are not directly being impacted because the City of Atlanta decides what purposes the revenues from this hotel-motel tax are being used for.

$200m could have been used to shift the property tax burden from the Atl residents for things like water system improvements, etc. But it isn't It's being spent to make Arthur Blank richer. No way is this new stadium anything but a rip off.

I've been living near Atlnta for 35 years, and I have yet to see the slightest benefit from the current stadium. I expect to see the same from the new one. As far as I'm concerned let Blank and his entertainment squad go someplace else. No loss.

[Hotlanta Mike]

You make the assumption that people arriving on convention business are paying for their accommodations out of their own pockets. A majority of this is business related, which is covered by the companies that sent these people.

Secondly, staying in any large city in the US (NYC, SFO, etc) I can assure you that there will be a number of taxes/fees on the hotel bill that travelers have to pay. That does not deter anyone from spending this dollar at a local venue if they have a desire to go to it.

[from occupied ga]

wrong and and half wrong

A majority of this is business related, which is covered by the companies that sent these people.

SO WHAT? You think companies have unlimited cash to spend? I work for a major corporation, and conference attendence is determined by relevance, how much it will cost and the available budget. number of taxes/fees on the hotel bill that travelers have to pay.

WHile this is true, the number of conference attendees at our company has dropped with people being forced to go on teleconference workshops etc.

Overall my statement stands there are no good taxes. All taxes take money from the voluntary economy and forcibly transfer wealth to those who havent earned it. Try reading bastiat's that which is seen and that which is not seen.