Dear Editor,
I’m 72 years “young” and strongly support modification of the Killington Option Tax as suggested by The Resort.
The suggested modification of the option tax is NOT the elimination of the option tax, only the elimination of that portion applicable to sales and use tax.
Because I shop in Killington, a portion of the likely increase in my property tax will be offset by savings on the option tax that I now pay on my phone and cable bills and purchases in Killington like ski equipment and my season pass.
I’ve owned a home in Killington since 1987 and have been a permanent Killington resident for 10 years.
With no pensions, stocks, or bonds, I work part time in order to afford a certain standard of living, including buying an Unlimited Senior Season Pass for Killington.
Paying $ 699 for an Unlimited Senior Season Pass and skiing 40 days last season, that is $ 17.48/day of skiing. Pretty reasonable – yes could be better. That Season Pass by the way afforded me free use of the K 1 Gondola this past summer, something that I used five times.
Enlightened communities – be they towns, cities, states – recognize the value of
“partnering” with for-profit businesses to help grow and improve their respective communities. Frequently the mode of partnering is in tax breaks or the community paying for needed infrastructure associated with a new stadium.
Killington is like a corporate town. A corporate town has many relatively small businesses and one or two relatively large businesses. Quality of life in a corporate town is maximized when citizens and the major business in that town recognize and practice a spirit of “what is good for the Town is good for the business and vice-versa.”
Let’s repeal that portion of the option tax applicable to sales and use.
Bernie Krasnoff, Killington
