for any of you who live in davidson county, tomorrow the council votes on a HOTEL TAX INCREASE

Here is my letter in opposition to this measure. It is for this reason and reasons such as this that I will be running for City Council in Nashville, TN in 2011. I oppose increases to the size of government, and pro-corporate market manipulations like this.

www.myspace.com/doneganforliberty

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Council,

I write to you in regards to Bill NO. BL2008-251. The "Music City" has a worldwide reputation for being a leading cultural center. Our reputation for great entertainment has a wonderful result of attracting large numbers of tourists to soak in the ambiance of our city. This reputation did not come by Government management, but by the innovative musicians and industry professionals who gave our town its name.

Please do not hamper our vibrant tourist income by targeting small businesses and tourists with more crippling taxation. The critical mass of our taxation on the tourist industry is fast growing into one of the biggest burdens in the region. Please do not do our industries the disservice of making a vacation trip to Nashville to experience our wonderful culture a financial difficulty for travelers. Memphis, Atlanta, or a weekend in Gatlinburg might seem more attractive if our prices grow higher than theirs.

They say that when you tax something, you get less of it, and this is a tax on small business and tourism. What we get in exchange will be looked on retroactively as another handout to a certain "unnamed" corporation.

Hotels keep convention and meeting space just fine, we do not need to take away their money, which they could spend on that space privately, and instead mismanage the funds by overspending on a downtown meeting space. That is a morally unacceptable transfer of wealth.

Thank you, and please vote NO on this, yet another needless tax.

Barry Donegan"