Posted on 03/13/2025 11:02:03 PM PDT by Libloather
As Tax Day nears, fiscally conservative leaders in several states are pushing to abolish property taxes, with one Pennsylvania lawmaker arguing that homeowners shouldn’t have to "pay rent" to the government.
That lawmaker, state Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon, spoke to Fox News Digital on Thursday ahead of his latest effort to end the collection of such taxes in the Keystone State.
Diamond will put forward a resolution — titled HB 900 — which Fox News Digital learned exclusively will be filed imminently. The document is a draft constitutional amendment he hopes will go to the voters on Election Day, and not a typical piece of legislation requiring gubernatorial approval.
Pennsylvania Republicans previously utilized the constitutional amendment process to accelerate the rollback of COVID-19 lockdowns imposed by then-Gov. Tom Wolf and then-health secretary Rachel Levine — by placing the amendment directly before voters on Election Day.
"Property taxes are an issue that is not exactly partisan, because in some areas, it’s more of a big deal than in others," Diamond said, citing varying relationships between taxes and school district funding.
Lebanon, he said, is kind of "middle-of-the-road," but that just to the east in Allentown and Mount Pocono, property taxes are a "big deal."
"For me, the ‘big deal’ is that I want people to own their homes and not have to rent from the government, all across Pennsylvania," he said.
In a recent post on his Substack, Diamond quipped that every time the topic comes up, "folks get all twisted into knots over how we’re going to pay for the things those taxes currently pay for — frankly, they’re missing the point."
"Boiled down to its very essence, fulfilling the promise of personal liberty is impossible if you can’t actually own a piece of real property," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxbusiness.com ...
That is ridiculously high! Here in North Carolina average property tax rate is 0.7 percent. And if your property includes a large acreage area around the home, you can put that area in a Land Conservancy by saying you will not develop that area (but you still could use it for things like gardens, out-buildings, private road, hiking trails, etc.) that will further greatly further reduce the tax on it.
It’s just not right! We bought a modest house and settled in this area because it was lower taxes than where we had been renting. Fast forward 15 years and now it’s one of the highest in the area, however it’s not like we can just up and move because the price of houses are outrageous now. I’ve never had any kids go to these schools, I don’t use the library but maybe once every 5 years because most things are available online, I guess it’s nice to have a police force, postal service and repaired roads *shrugs* but you know the funds are being mishandled and just on principle it’s structured wrong, for reasons stated in article.
I probably have an idealized non realistic version of the past or what could be but it seems to me when households only required one paycheck, women (usually) were able to perform roles as volunteer/charity that now must be paid for.
“It should be routine to auction off abandoned property.”
OMG! That thought is scary as hell. Sounds like pure communism at its best. Seize abandoned property and auction it off. Who gets the proceeds? Hah? What defines abandoned?
I can see a plot of choice land being held as an investment seized and auctioned off. I can see grandma’s house that is being kept up but unoccupied seized and auctioned off all for the better good. And the proceeds will of course go to some elite jackass that’s already filthy rich.
NO, NO AND HELL NO.
ND tried to get rid of property taxes the last election and it did not pass. The majority of voters said no. The reason was the money obtained from property taxes would have to come from some other area, such as increasing sales tax or income tax.
The measure was poorly written, as it should have included a method to recoup the lost revenue elsewhere. With ND’s high oil production, taxing that would have worked which would have left the basic citizen alone.
Raise the tax on the sale of Terrible Towels.
I’m all for eliminating them but I don’t see it happening in my remaining lifetime.
Be nice if they’d just eliminate them when you turn 65.
THe abandoned land sale could fund the local schools.
States are evil for allowing the property tax burden to rise like they have. It should be minimal, not a second mortgage.
We tax old people. It is ridiculous.
At the state level would we rather have:
1) property taxes
2) state income tax
3) state sales taxes
Every state gubmint needs money to operate, money that comes from that state’s population. While many states have some combination of the three items above, I tend to lean towards number 3 as it produces revenue from every sale regardless of income status or residency. However number 1 is useful for acquiring revenue from abandoned property and property owned by out-of-state entities.
Number 2 is a non-starter for me.
You will own nothing (no property ownership and fiat currency) and be happy.
Klaus spoke a multifaceted truth too few picked up on.
GREAT! Taxation with corrupt representation hurts the honest, hard-working citizens. We start with nothing and end with nothing. Corrupt representatives start with something and end with millions.
This is good, but I wish/hope there is some exemption for corporations and foreign investors. If you’re not American (or human), you SHOULD pay to rent our land.
You do in the UK.
Don't be like the UK.
Flat tax.
And no more government than that affords us.
That's actually a really good idea. Wow... I'm amazed that this is the first time I've even heard of such a good idea, but it hit me with the force of the obvious.
From January...
Half of county councils could see election delay
Meanwhile their Councils are going bankrupt, taxes are soaring, and the taxpaying populace is being begggared.
You forgot to add the Lottery.
I know it is an extremely unpopular idea, but perhaps property tax should be part of mortgage and rent payments. Once you’ve paid off your mortgage and own your property outright, it seems criminal to have to pay protection money to the government to be allowed to keep your own property.
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