Reasons to Vote No on 2

This proposal will force towns to increase property taxes

If this proposal passes, all it's going to do is lead to a big shift from the excise tax on new cars to higher property taxes. When towns lose the revenue they need for roads, they're going to have to make it up somewhere, and that just means putting more of a burden on the backs of property owners.

This proposal will make our roads worse and prevent towns from plowing or fixing them.

The clerk in the town of Abbot says her town collected about $112,000 in excise taxes last year, and spent all of it for snow plowing and town road improvements. She says most towns use their excise tax money in the same way, and they can't afford to lose that revenue. These are the types of no-win decisions all our towns would have to make if this proposal passes.

This proposal would mean tax breaks for people who can afford new cars but higher property taxes and worse roads for the rest of us.

This proposal lets some new vehicles avoid the auto excise tax altogether. That may sound good but those new cars, trucks and hybrids wear down our roads just like the older ones that most of us drive. When a select few use our roads but get to pay no excise tax at all, it means fewer repairs of roads and bridges. Safe roads are the responsibility all of us. It's a question of fairness but, even more importantly, it's a matter of safety.