Only West Coast Port to Impose a Tariff on Shipping!
Your cost of gas will increase and your job may be lost if
the new tax (Humboldt Bay's General Tariff No. 1) on
shipping the current Harbor Commissioners have approved is
collected after the dredging is completed. This is a new
tax on vessels and cargo which is not collected in any other
port on the West Coast. Our gasoline costs will go up at
the pump when the barges that bring our gasoline in have to
pay this new tax. Mills may close when the cost of bringing
logs in increases. This new tax defeats the purpose of
dredging by discouraging shipping and will affect shipping
related jobs. I will insist that the Harbor District
revisit the subject of this new tax and investigate the
possibility of cutting costs, such as the very high fees for
consultants and professionals, and the use of reserve funds
to repay the dredging loan. We can't let our economy go to
pot (no pun intended) by driving shippers away with this new
tax!
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