We feel very strongly that a wrong has been done to the taxpayers of Washington. Voting yes on I-892 will begin to correct this by reducing escalating property taxes.
Tribes are quietly acquiring land everywhere to be added to the list of lands already acquired and waiting for “trust” status. Once in “trust” the tribe can do whatever it wants and to top it off, pay no property, business or sales taxes to support the community from which they derive their income. So, the state loses more and more tax revenue every year.
In addition, the argument against I-892 printed in the Voter’s Pamphlet includes many inaccuracies or unsubstantiated statements. First, there is a suggestion that because “gambling would double” then the “problems with gambling” would also double. What information supports this? Next, the text suggests proponents of I-892 made up and are hiding behind the term “electronic scratch ticket machine” instead of calling the machines “slot machines.” The state applied this label to these kinds of “slot machines” to differentiate them from the look-alike cousins in Nevada.
Next, the text suggests that every neighborhood bar or non-profit bingo game is supported by huge foreign and out of state gambling corporations, but again, where is the evidence? Isn’t it true that tribal casinos support, perhaps in the millions, opposition to I-892 because it would level the playing field and allow other citizens to participate in what the federal and state government has already legitimized?
Finally, the rebuttal states that “the Lottery was supposed to pay for education.” That was true until the Legislature decided that it wanted those funds to go into the “general fund.”
Voting yes on I-892 will lower your property taxes and will allow “free choice and opportunity.”
Catherine Paxton
Marianne Boyle
Arlington
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