Ray Gilmore: My opponent is trying to deny that she voted for an income tax

To the editor:

 My opponent is trying to deny that she voted for an income tax (twice) by saying that "premiums" are not a tax. 

She said it at the debate Oct. 28, and now doubled down in a letter to the editor published Oct. 30. 

On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that a “premium” is a tax. 

Case closed. 

You can call it a banana, if you want; but, if it looks like a tax, and acts like a tax, it is a tax. 

It is disingenuous to say that it is anything else. 

We need to be clear with the voters, and call a duck a duck. 

People have to come to the polls on Tuesday, or an income tax is just the beginning. 

My opponent also advocates for the return of "donor towns," when she states she will vote to "remediate" the burden on less affluent communities. 

The scheme her party is pushing will drain money from our town and send it across the state, while nearly doubling our property taxes.

I hope that the voters of Bartlett, Jackson and Hart's Location can see through this blatant misdirection. 

A "premium" by law, is a tax. 

This is not an attack, it is not negative. This is a fact, to be called out. 

When the Supreme Court says a "premium" is a tax, it means that a premium is a tax. 

This is the clear line in the sand between your two choices for state representative. I will never try to hide the truth, or my intent, with deceptive wording. 

If you are going to try and pass an income tax, have the respect, honor, integrity and personal courage to say it is an income tax. 

Ray S. Gilmore

Glen