Collinsville, Oklahoma
October 31, 2012
Miscellaneous News
6th Grade "Exploding" Art / Veterans Invited To Wilson /
Cherokee Language Bowl /
Brinkley On State Question 766

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1110 W. Main, Collinsville, OK 74021

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Ted Wright -- last update 11/1/2012 (MiscOct31.html) www.cvilleok.com

Copyright 2012 -- Collinsville, Oklahoma
Nov. 2nd Chili Dinner
CHS Wrestling Fundraiser
$5 at the door (5:30-7:30pm) at Wilson Elementary before Tahlequah Football Game - Friday Nov. 2nd
Cherokee Language Bowl
Collinsville once again had students enter the Cherokee Language Bowl and place. Wilson Elementary had two teams enter and Mary Burr's team Collinsville Cardinals #1 won first place. Team members are Hannah Phillips, Taylor Rhoton, Ainsley Burr, Savannah Hutchens and Cheyenne Kiddy.

Herald Elementary entered two teams and Tonya Vaughn's team Collinsville Redbirds placed third. Team members were Gage Tacker, Lane Hutchens, Esperanza Torres, Harley Ragsdale and Haley Leach.

We congratulate all the teams for their hard work learning the language and they did an excellent job at the competition. Winners will receive Visa gift cards in May after all the competitions are completed.

Janice Fields (Indian Education Director -- Collinsville Public Schools)
(918) 371-5449 Office
cvilleindianed@yahoo.com
-- Janice Fields (10/31/2012)
Failure for SQ 766 to pass will result in the largest tax increase in state history.

From Senator Rick Brinkley's Facebook Page (10/31/2012)

Definition: TANGIBLE Property is property that you can wrap your hands around. If you own a McDonald’s, Tangible Property is the building, the fryers, tables and Chairs, etc. INTANGIBLE PROPERTY is the “name” McDonald’s (what is the “brand” worth?), Client Lists, Software developed by employees (A McDonald’s Franchise may not be a good example for that one), and the institutional knowledge your employees possess, etc.

History: For years, counties did not really evaluate or charge tax on Intangible Property. However, the Board of Equalization assessed an Intangible Tax on large entities like Utilities, Railroads, etc. These companies are called “Centrally Assessed” companies, because they were not assessed on a County-by-County basis. It is important to note that even “Centrally Assessed” companies were not actually assessed a tax based on an actual determination of their Intangible Property, but rather it was calculated on a Unit Basis….meaning if your company was assessed at a certain tangible property amount, a certain percentage was calculated to be your Intangible Tax. Several years ago a company challenged its being taxed on intangibles to the State Supreme Court. They claimed it was unfair because other companies were not taxed for intangibles (just the Centrally Assessed Companies). The State Supreme Court ruled that not only was the Intangible Tax Constitutional, it could be assessed against all companies in the state as well as individuals.

Your Decision to Make: The question before you is “Should We Eliminate Taxation on Intangible Property?” My answer to that question is “YES.” First, by the mere definition of “Intangible”, it is not something that is easily determined and the variance from County to County and Assessor to Assessor could be great. How does the government assess the value of your company’s name and then tax you on it? Also, please be reminded that these companies and, especially, small business owners have already paid income tax on the company’s income and the salary they have paid themselves. Now, to “double dip” and tax them again on the Intangible Value of what they created seems inherently wrong to me. They will, of course, continue to pay Tangible Property Tax, Income Tax, Unemployment Tax, Payroll Taxes, etc. Plus, the taxes they pay as individuals.
We also should not pick and choose who pays Intangible Taxes. We either all pay them or none of us pay them, but we can’t (in my opinion) say we only want certain companies to pay the tax and not others. We have also not addressed the issues related to taxation of Intangibles on individuals.

Opposition: The Oklahoma Tax Commission estimated the cost to eliminate the Intangible Tax would be approximately $50 million (meaning it would not collect approximately $50 Million of taxes on companies currently paying the Intangible Tax.) However, it provided no methodology for its calculations. Please remember, those companies which currently pay tax on Intangibles are really paying a “Unit Valuation” that the government uses to determine what they will charge them as their “Intangible Tax”. It is not currently based on actual/factual determination of a company’s Intangible worth. Those who oppose this state question do not want to see a reduction in the amount of money the state collects. However, many of them freely admit they also do not want this kind of tax to go into effect on individuals, small business owners, farmers, ranchers, etc.

It is impossible for the Tax Commission to estimate the magnitude of the taxes to be collected if Intangibles were to be taxed; however, some estimates put it between a $300 - $400 million tax increase.
My Opinion: State Question 766 needs to pass in order to be fair to Individuals/Businesses in this state, to prevent the largest tax increase in state history, and to help all businesses, especially small business owners, succeed.

Veterans Invited To Assembly
At Wilson Elementary

Would you please help us let everyone know:

Wilson Elementary will be honoring our Veterans, past and present, at our annual Veterans Day Assembly on Monday, November 12th, at 9:00 a.m. We would like to invite anyone who is a veteran or current member of any of the armed forces to attend our presentation. They are very special and we would like to show them how important they are to us, to our community, and to our country.

Please call (918) 371-3144 for further information.

Thanks so much! ~ Paula Caudill (11/1/2012)

Ted Note: The Veterans Day parade is at 11am Downtown (Nov. 12th) and I suspect they may be activities at other schools that I don't have info for yet.

This page sponsored in part by:

http://hannahshelpinghands.org

Hannah's Helping Hands, Inc. — Our Mission
We are a non-profit 501(c)3 organization providing financial assistance to families with children battling cancer. Many families need help with the most basic needs for their families during this fight for their child’s life. Some must leave work for months and even years to care for their sick child and the financial loss can be devastating. Our goal is to help as many families being treated locally as possible. We help with basic needs such as gas & food cards, groceries, wigs, utility payments, prescriptions, medical co-payments, rent/housing as well as other expenses. Our referrals come from doctors, nurses and staff at a local children’s hospital in Tulsa as well as our local communities.

6th Grade "Exploding" Art Class
I happened by the Middle School gym Tuesday as 6th grade art students were creating outdoor abstract art by adding Alka-Seltzer to small paint canisters. After shaking the containers and placing them on the blank sheets the students would stand back and wait for the pressure to force the paint out in unusual patterns. -- Ted