gonna start with one simple example cause i am short on time. but, imagine if you will, you live in steele county for example. population 1800. can't imagine there is enough economic activity in finley, sharon and hope to fund the counties bills via sales tax alone. so, how would one propose paying for their roads, schools, general infrastructure, etc... without property taxes? make the state fund it with $ generated from someone else's pocket is really the only other way to do it? and that's sorta what allen is getting at. the people who own the land that benefit from the infrastructure and services should have to pay for said infrastructure and services.
take it a step further, lets pretend some out of state billionaire comes in and starts buying up farmland. at an average of $1000/acre (that includes tillable, non-tillable, etc...) for example, he could buy the whole county for half of a billion dollars. how much money in alternative taxes do non-resident landowners generate? practically $0.00. again, how's a fella supposed to pay the bills in that county without property taxes.
one of the biggest bitches i had last time around about property taxes was the idea that you never "really own your property" if you are always beholden to the guberment for a tax every year. and that is true. but, there needs to be some mechanism for two things: 1. funding the services that benefit my property. and 2. making sure the government has a mechanism for taking possession of absentee landowner's property who don't pay for said services and/or let their property go to shit.
don't get me wrong, i think we need some sort of overhaul. government is drunk on the tit. but, that's more of a spending problem than it is a property tax system problem imho. and, after nearly a decade? now of thinking about it. i am not sure there is a proposed alternative that is better.
just my 2 cents.
take it a step further, lets pretend some out of state billionaire comes in and starts buying up farmland. at an average of $1000/acre (that includes tillable, non-tillable, etc...) for example, he could buy the whole county for half of a billion dollars. how much money in alternative taxes do non-resident landowners generate? practically $0.00. again, how's a fella supposed to pay the bills in that county without property taxes.
one of the biggest bitches i had last time around about property taxes was the idea that you never "really own your property" if you are always beholden to the guberment for a tax every year. and that is true. but, there needs to be some mechanism for two things: 1. funding the services that benefit my property. and 2. making sure the government has a mechanism for taking possession of absentee landowner's property who don't pay for said services and/or let their property go to shit.
don't get me wrong, i think we need some sort of overhaul. government is drunk on the tit. but, that's more of a spending problem than it is a property tax system problem imho. and, after nearly a decade? now of thinking about it. i am not sure there is a proposed alternative that is better.
just my 2 cents.
