OKC voters set to decide fate of MAPS 4

Some are frustrated by the all-or-nothing approach taken by MAPS projects. Voters can choose to approve all 16 projects, or vote the whole thing down. There is no middle ground.

Cost is another concern for some voters. Anything with expenses approaching $1 billion requires careful consideration, especially when the funds come straight from a taxpayer’s pocket.

This tax would replace the Better Streets, Safer City temporary tax, which is set to expire at the end of March. Since MAPS 4 would be taxed at the same rate, consumers would effectively see no change in taxes beginning April 1 if the initiative were approved. Only the use of the funds collected by the 1-cent portion of sales taxes would change.

“This package is unique in that it really takes that power of MAPS into neighborhoods, into our daily lives,” Mayor David Holt said. “It really meets every potential need in the city without increasing the sales tax rate from where it is today. You don’t pay a single dime more — or in this case a penny — than you do today.”

City officials are quick to point out some of that money will come from non-OKC residents. Anyone from the surrounding suburbs, the rest of Oklahoma or out-of-state visitors who visit and shop in Oklahoma City will be subject to the tax. Residents can expect nonresidents to contribute to the funding of these projects, most of which are designed to serve mainly those living in Oklahoma City.

How much of the total MAPS 4 cost would be covered by nonresidents is hard to estimate. While city officials use this as an argument for the tax, it’s important to realize there is not a clear understanding of how much aid Oklahoma City residents can expect from out-of-towners (or those from the next town over).

A critique of the MAPS 4 revenue structure is that a sales tax is a regressive tax, meaning it takes a higher percentage of income from lower-wage earners. However, this criticism is sometimes misunderstood.

A regressive tax does not mean lower-wage earners are charged more tax. If two people spend equal amounts on an item, they will pay the same amount of sales tax for that item. Of that sales tax, the same amount would go toward MAPS 4, regardless of the income earned by the individuals.

The tax is considered regressive simply because individuals with smaller paychecks are using a higher percentage of their paycheck to pay the sales tax than the people who earn more. This could potentially be a greater burden for those who have little wiggle room in their monthly budgets.

But how much will these individuals, or any other Oklahoma City voter, ultimately contribute to MAPS 4 if the measure passes? Are the projects worth the cost to the individuals that live in this city?

The answer to the first question isn’t hard to calculate, but it varies widely from voter to voter. You’ll only pay sales tax, and thus the MAPS 4 one-cent tax, on items you purchase. Therefore, the more you buy, the more you’ll contribute.

If someone spends $1,000 per month on groceries, entertainment, clothes, school supplies, etc. for themselves and their family, that individual would pay $10 for the MAPS 4 tax, along with other sales taxes.

Those individuals could expect to be charged about $120 for MAPS 4 over the course of the year if they averaged the same $1,000 per month in spending, and they would be charged about $960 during the full eight years. Spend $2,000 per month, and double all those figures.

What will you pay?

The Oklahoman’s MAPS 4 cost calculator can help you estimate how much of your sales tax would be allocated to MAPS 4 if the project is approved. Enter in an estimated monthly amount spent on items subject to sales tax — things like groceries, clothes, home supplies, decorations or other tangible products — to see how much MAPS 4 could cost you over the next 8 years.

For some, this is a worthy expense to gain the 16 projects included in MAPS 4. For others, that price is too much.
Some like certain projects, but not others. You might feel strongly that the city shouldn’t spend $37 million to build a multipurpose soccer stadium. To just about everyone, $37 million is a lot of money.

But the actual cost to a single individual doesn’t seem as drastic. For that person who spends $1,000 per month on items subject to sales tax, they would be charged about 40 cents for the stadium. For some, 40 cents a month could be overlooked to get the other projects. But those small amounts per person will still add up to $37 million across the board, and that will be considered too steep a price by other voters.

So how do you vote if you like all but one of the projects? What if you really love two or three, but could do without the rest? Can you afford to keep the tax rate at the level it is, or does it need to be lower?

These questions are the fulcrum on which the MAPS 4 decision rests. It’s now up to the voters to tip the scales.