PropertyTaxReform

Are Property Tax "Circuit Breakers" a 'Solution' to anything?

A committee convened by former New York Governor Spitzer is looking at the Property Tax in NYS with an eye to capping it or providing so-called circuit breakers, in the form of a rebate from the state for any 70% of the residential (owner-occupied, first home) property tax that exceeds a certain percentage of a household's Adjusted Gross Income.

A Few Inconvenient Truths about the Property Tax

I'm pleased to share (with permission of the author) something that appeared on a mailing list I subscribe to. The conversation was along the lines of "how do we share the idea of land value taxation [a reform of the property tax] with people who are used to hating the property tax?"

Roy Langston wrote,

When I encounter the usual unreasoning hatred of property taxes, I just point out a few inconvenient truths, along these lines:

Bill Batt: Property Tax Relief Measures: Answers to the "Poor Widow" Argument

Link: Bill Batt: Property Tax Relief Measures: Answers to the "Poor Widow" Argument

One of the things we hear about property taxes is that rising property taxes are driving poor widows on fixed incomes out of their lifetime homes -- and that therefore the property tax must be "reformed" or replaced by taxes which fall on other groups of citizens: e.g., workers, consumers.

Is this the direction we should go?  Is the fact that some people live in places they can no longer afford a reason to make a major change in the tax most municipalities rely on?

LVTfan thinks otherwise.  Yes, the property tax is in need of some reform, but it is fundamentally the best tax available to us.
 

Alabama's taxes

Friday night, PBS's NOW program had an excellent piece about Alabama's tax system.  It featured three families from different parts of the income and property spectrum, and one of my heroes, Susan Pace Hamill.  People whose income is below the federal poverty line pay income taxes in Alabama, and groceries carry sales taxes, at rates as high as 10% or 11%!  But property taxes are low.

Have you noticed that the places where property taxes are high seem to be the best places to live, with the largest proportion of the children going on to attend 4-year colleges?  Have you noticed that where property taxes are low, there is a great deal of poverty and poor schools and living situations that result in undereducated children?   Which sort of place would you prefer to live in?  Which sort would you like your grandchildren to grow up in?  Your nieces and nephews to raise their children in?  Should other people's children have anything less?

Blog Speed

The series of posts appearing below this one were copied in from my primary blog, http://lvtfan.typepad.com.  LVTfan is a reference to the only tax I can think of that deserves a fan club: Land Value Taxation.  There are many more posts there than here, and I comment them to your attention! 

CT: Revitalizing older cities

Recently, four city mayors in Connecticut proposed that cities ought to  be permitted to impose a 1% sales tax if they chose.  Those who spend much time thinking about incentives recognize this as a poor idea.  I particularly liked this pair of letters to the editor in the New London Day:

Funding Infrastructure: A Dedicated Funding Stream

A recent article in the Stamford Advocate, Dodd touts transit-funding bill in Stamford (3/25)

STAMFORD - During an appearance yesterday at the Urban Transitway construction site, U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., called for major national investment in roads, trains, bridges and other infrastructure.

Dodd came to town to promote his bill that would set up an independent national bank for such projects. The bank would designate regionally significant projects for loans, loan guarantees or other financial help and issue tax-exempt bonds to finance them.

Dodd said the United States needs a national policy and a dedicated funding stream for maintaining infrastructure, rather than leaving it to politicians to fight for money for individual projects.

It may be a dry topic, but it's important, he said.

"It normally glazes over the eyes of the most determined listener," Dodd said. "I'm proud to be in a city that cares about it."

Is LVT the answer? It depends what the question is.

The title for this post was prompted by an article in the NYT about people not raised on farms deciding to become farmers, particularly in places near large cities.  It seems that local food was said to be the answer to a number of questions.  I'm generally in favor of it, but I'm not sure it is the answer to as many questions as its supporters claim.  That doesn't make "local food" a bad thing; just not the answer to as many questions as it might seem.

But the title for this post sprang to mind.  It seems to me that Land Value Taxation is the answer to a lot of very important questions.

Fixing Wages, and Fixing Housing Affordability -- for All of Us

By this, I mean fixing the problem of low wages -- wages insufficient to support an individual or a family in conditions we consider acceptable on a reasonable number of hours of labor per week. I don't mean minimum wage legislation, or living wage legislation, both of which I regard as well-intentioned but ultimately destructive for the community they intend to help.  I don't mean measures like the Earned Income Tax Credit, either.  It appears that people must jump through high hoops to get those dollars (which often seems to require professional advice, at a price), and then a significant portion of the money goes not to the wage earner but to his tax preparer/advisor, in the form of fees and interest.

The FairTax, and why it isn't fair or wise

One of my standing google alerts took me to an article on Florida taxes. On the comments pages, some people were proposing the FairTax as a good alternative to the current federal income tax.  I ended up posting several comments in response to their statements, and thought I'd cross-post my comments here.