June 23 (Bloomberg) -- Al Strazzullo, a retired regional manager for the U.S. General Accounting Office, got the good news first. President George W. Bush's $330 billion cut in personal income taxes put an extra $177 in his 2003 government pension.
In March, Strazzullo, 76, got the bad news. The gain was wiped out by a $538 increase in property taxes on his three- bedroom, brick-veneer house in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The bill went to $3,283 from $2,745.
``I'm very unhappy,'' says Strazzullo, who adds that he wants the city to slash taxes and curtail spending. ``A lot of people in town are under financial stress, and you just can't get a break.''
That lament is being heard all over the U.S. after Bush's 2003 tax cuts as states, counties and cities boost rates to meet the rising cost of government. Mayors, school officials and taxpayers from Virginia to Oregon say the tax burden in the U.S. is shifting from the federal government to states, cities and counties as local taxes are raised and services are cut.
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