by Matt Kelly

In a surprise to almost no one, the Burlington City Council voted 10-1 to permanently codify its “temporary” 0.5% Gross Receipts Tax increase. 

As the economist Milton Friedman famously observed, “Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government measure.” 

Burlington’s trajectory from a 2024 emergency budget band-aid to a permanent 2.5% foundational line item for the fiscal year 2027 budget, should serve as a warning to everyone of government’s insatiable addiction to new revenue. 

Once a tax increase is introduced, it is almost never rescinded. Instead, the temporary infusion of cash becomes the new baseline. Government expands, and then politicians claim the tax sunset would cause a budget crisis.

This is not an isolated incident in Vermont. We watched the exact same script play out when the Chester Select Board debated stripping sunset clauses from proposed local taxes to protect future municipal spending. 

We see it at the state level, where the legislature extended the state fuel tax sunset out to June 30, 2029, rather than letting it expire as originally promised.

Let’s be honest: “temporary” is simply a marketing term to bypass voter resistance. 

So, because legislative bodies, both local, municipal, or state, cannot be trusted to voluntarily surrender a revenue stream, the burden falls entirely on us.

As the funders and underwriters of local government, we must reject this ongoing expansion of bureaucracy. 

With the advent of artificial intelligence, modern fiscal responsibility is now within the financial reach of even the smallest municipality. Administrative tasks, data management, and public reporting can be streamlined using AI for thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of dollars less than traditional methods.

Furthermore, local governments and municipalities must stop viewing themselves as employment agencies or job creators.

That vital role belongs exclusively to the private sector, which must actually respond to the hard economics of the marketplace. If a local business fails to balance its books or overcharges its customers, it goes out of business. When a city government does the same, it simply breaks its promises and makes a temporary tax permanent.

Taxpayers must stop underwriting inefficiencies and demand that government respect its promises.

Luckily, Vermont law provides citizens with the exact tool needed to fight back. Under state statute, residents do not have to sit by while local councils walk back their sunset clauses. By gathering signatures from just 5% of Burlington’s registered voters, the community can legally force a vote to completely repeal this local tax. 

If city hall refuses to honor its original timeline, it is time for the taxpayers to organize, sign the petition, and enforce the sunset clause ourselves.