An interesting tax increase occurred in Poland on Sept. 7. Selectmen voted to raise Poland’s mill rate from last year’s $19.60-per-thousand to a new high of $21.30-per-thousand, an increase of 8.7 percent. On a property valued at $100,000, that’s an increase of $170 per year.

If the Taxpayer Bill of Rights were law right now, selectmen could not do that without voter approval. It was not a town meeting; five people just voted to increase tax bills by 8.7 percent. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights will change this.

From 2001 to 2007 expenses have increased as follows: county taxes increased 82 percent; the municipal budget increased 46 percent; and the education budget increased 53 percent. Has anyone’s income increased more than 50 percent in the last seven years?

People need to look at the source of articles against the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. The source will always be individuals who receive funding and salaries from our tax dollars.

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights does not create tax cuts. If a town or the state wants more than the rate of inflation and population growth, it can with taxpayer approval.

What is more American than that?

Scare tactics will be in the news. I do not believe them. No tax cuts are asked for, only future spending control. I will vote for controlled spending.

Roger Knowlton, Poland