I have to disagree with that one. I actually receive something in return for my property taxes. Schools, fire, police, roads. It is local and if you choose to live in an area with very little services you can have lower taxes.
One of the problems I have with adding a sales tax while keeping the income tax is it diminishes the visibility of the yearly impact of the federal government. At least filing that tax return people see a large chunk being taken of their earned dollars. Take a large portion of that away and I believe you would have less push back against additional government spending.
“One of the problems I have with adding a sales tax while keeping the income tax is it diminishes the visibility of the yearly impact of the federal government. At least filing that tax return people see a large chunk being taken of their earned dollars. Take a large portion of that away and I believe you would have less push back against additional government spending.”
An interesting perspective, BUT...
What was the exact income tax rate you paid last year? The year before that? How about in 2002?
The vast majority of people CANNOT answer this question.
So, the flip side to your argument is that a sales tax is actually extremely visible - every time you buy something, you see it. So if the government ever tried to increase it, people would know *exactly* what was about to happen and be able to fight it. With income taxes, they hide it in tax tables, deductions, and exemptions. People often have no idea how a specific tax bill actually affected their overall taxes without really crunching the numbers.
“I have to disagree with that one. I actually receive something in return for my property taxes. Schools, fire, police, roads. It is local and if you choose to live in an area with very little services you can have lower taxes.”
You can get those government services from other revenue generating methods - such as a consumption tax - that are more ethical. But, OK, I understand that many municipalities are not going to be able to provide those services under a consumption tax. Fine. Fees are more ethical than property taxes.
Any tax that says “just because I own property, I must pay the government or risk a tax lien and eventual government ownership of said property” is unethical, imo.