Official's statements carry weight

To the editor:

One hopes that newly elected Mayor Knudtson's impetuous commuter tax proposal is not indicative of his leadership style. Although the mayor has been quick to point out in recent interviews that he is not proposing a commuter tax, your newspaper's story of April 20 belies this position. I've watched his rapid retraction and subsequent harried attempts at "clarification" with some amusement. It appears that, upon his initial comments, Mayor Knudtson had yet to fully appreciate the gravity of a public figure's comments on matters of import. I suspect the mayor's perception of the impact of his public statements has improved of late.

Local news media have been quick to point to both St. Louis and Kansas City in rationalizing the mayor's proposed commuter tax. It is true that those who live outside these cities and work within pay a tax. What has been noticeably absent in local reporting is that St. Louis and Kansas City residents who live and work within their respective cities also pay this tax.

As for the tax itself, had the mayor made even a cursory review of applicable statutes, Supreme Court decisions and the U.S. Constitution prior to his spontaneous outburst, he would have quickly determined that taxing non-residents without taxing residents is a violation of the Privileges and Immunities Clause of our Constitution. In Lunding v. New York Tax Appeals Tribunal, 522 U.S. 287, 118 S.Ct. 766, decided Jan. 21, 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that New York's commuter tax, which exempted residents, was unconstitutional and illegal.

Finally, one wonders which division within the city will take the responsibility for first tracking each and every worker in the city, determining his/her residence, then distributing, collecting, tabulating and auditing the appropriate tax forms, and finally collecting the applicable tax.

It may be that the commuter tax proposal was indeed an attempt by Mayor Knudtson to stimulate discussion on the revenue dilemma in an "outside-the-box" manner, as he has claimed, and not merely an attempt at a free ride on the backs of those who contribute a great deal to the city treasury, yet take and expect little in return. I hope this to be the case.PAUL H. BOYD

Sikeston, Mo.