Ellen Dambrosio: The library tax truly is tiny, but it does so much

I totally concur with the writer of “Tiny tax is hugely important” (Letters, Oct. 11) that everyone should vote yes on Measure S to extend the eighth-cent library sales tax that we’ve been paying since 1995. For those still on the fence, I’d like to re-examine the math in the letter.

He said, “When you spend $100, the tax amounts to less than one buck!” Technically true, it’s actually much less than that. In fact, when you spend $100, the tax amounts to just 12.5 cents! The library tax adds just 1 cent to an $8 purchase, 10 cents to an $80 purchase, and only $1 to an $800 purchase.

As the Sept. 24th Bee editorial “We’ve got a great library, vote Yes on S to keep it that way” (Our View) noted, this small tax will cost the average family about $18 a year. What a small price to pay for our communities to retain all the great services of the Stanislaus County Free Library system. Vote yes on Measure S to keep our libraries great – actually, to keep our libraries at all!

This story was originally published October 23, 2017 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Ellen Dambrosio: The library tax truly is tiny, but it does so much."