Property Taxes Are Theft - Jefferey Tucker

Posted by freedomforall 3 days, 1 hour ago to Economics
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Excerpt:
"Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida has an absolutely thrilling idea, one I never imagined I would see unfold in my lifetime. He is putting on the ballot next year a referendum that would abolish or restrict local governments from taxing owner-occupied homes.

That’s right, he wants to get rid of the property tax, saving residents some $3,400 a year and fundamentally disrupting the way schools and local governments are financed.

Texas is considering the same path.



If this really happens, I can easily predict more of a demographic shift out of the Northeast and Northwest to the South and Texas. If this spreads to more states, it would amount to a revolution in public finance.

It’s long overdue. These tax schemes are brutal on home ownership. Indeed, it’s hard to say that you are ever really the owner of your home if you are having to pay rent to the government every year.

It’s especially a problem in an environment when the home valuation goes up every year and so does the tax you owe on the place. You have done nothing but lived there and enjoyed life. It is entirely paid off. Meanwhile, the government keeps coming after you with ever more pressing demands for money.

You cannot really say you are an owner of anything under these conditions."
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Publik skools are a disgrace.
Stop funding them.


All Comments

  • Posted by $ Radio_Randy 5 minutes ago
    Just be prepared for your state to institute an income tax...the money is going to come from somewhere.
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  • Posted by $ allosaur 34 minutes ago
    Me dino's brother Joe, who this year moved from Hoover of Birmingham to a home he had built in Tallahassee, is going to really like this!
    Just by moving from Alabama he also escaped having to pay a state tax.
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  • Posted by CaptainKirk 1 hour, 18 minutes ago
    Living in FL, I feel I should comment on this.
    First, taxing a home on its increased value is WRONG (it is an unrealized gain).
    Second, All tax on growth should BACK OUT Inflation. As 90% of real estate gains are just inflation.

    But I LOVE this idea. I would settle for limiting the tax to the purchase price. My house was $122K when I bought it. I paid it off decades ago. They say it is worth 545K now. My insurances was < $1K/yr. It would be > $9K/yr now. Double whammy. My insurance+taxes are now BIGGER than my original mortgage.

    Now, my taxes are protected with Homestead exemption. But they are really increasing. From $1,400 to 2,400, now 2,800 with the recent acceleration being insanely fast. The 2% cap is helpful, but NOT after 30 years. And the more expensive the house becomes, the 2% becomes bigger.

    Income tax is slavery.
    Property tax (on sale/purchase) is fine.

    But it begs the question. How do we pay for the services we do get? Schools, Fire Depts, etc?

    Put me back to $1,400/yr (Tax on Purchase Price only), and I am good. But another 35 years in this house is going to be costing me more than ever.

    BTW, Anyone else like the idea of DeSantis as a Supreme Court Justice!
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  • Posted by JohnRandALL 12 hours, 8 minutes ago
    We have TABOR, the taxpayers bill of rights, that limits taxation in Colorado. But the Dems are trying to figure out a way around it. They want to spend more money on homeless hotels and light rail that runs empty, while the roads are full of potholes, bridges falling apart, and graffiti, trash, and homeless camps are everywhere.
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  • Posted by JohnRandALL 12 hours, 12 minutes ago
    It's true. You never really "own" your home, just because the mortgage is paid off. Bravo to Florida and Texas! Unfortunately, I am stuck in Colorado, where the Denver Dems are a billion dollars over budget with the state budget, and trying to figure out how to get even more tax money out of us.
    Reply | Permalink  

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