Link: Richard S. Colman: Your Turn -- End the property tax - ContraCostaTimes.com.
A homeowner in California is complaining about the injustice of Proposition 13. He has owned his home for 9 years, and is paying 650% of what the fellow from whom he bought it was paying in property taxes. His solution?
The answer is simple: it's time to get rid of the property tax altogether. Perhaps a tiny income tax would be an acceptable substitute.
And what does he suggest that the community do for tax revenue is his "tiny income tax" is not sufficient to meet the revenue needs? The writer's byline says that he is the president of the Biomed Corporation, so it isn't that he is unaware of the role of government spending in making possible the amenities of his town of residence or his place of business. Yet he proposes "a tiny income tax" as a desirable substitute for a property tax which he -- rightly -- notes is unjust.
But what is unjust about California's property tax under Proposition 13 is that it doesn't treat every property owner as if they were created equal and should contribute equally in proportion to the current market value of their property to the costs of providing the services that make his towns desirable places to live and to work and to conduct business.
The reform of California's property tax that would promote the common good is to simply end Proposition 13. Hire assessment companies to assess every property in the state [with Prop 13, the county assessors have operated with minimal staff because they don't actually have to look at many properties ever!], with the instruction that they are to value the land first, and to treat whatever buildings are on each property as the difference between the current market value of the total property and the land value. Publish the assessments so everyone can see them. Map the land values, and provide those maps online. If people think their properties are worth less, let them make the case to their neighbors.
Then place California's tax burden on its land value. Untax the buildings. Untax sales. Untax wages, starting with the lowest-wage folks. People who own waterfront land will pay far more in taxes than people who own land further from the ocean, river or bay. People who own a single building lot will pay a lot less than people who own far more land. People who own downtown properties, or properties served by good public transportation, or properties close to high-paying jobs will pay more than those who live further out. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE? Pay for what you are getting from the community!
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