Property Tax Revolution in North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan

Townhall.com ^ | March 26, 2012 | Mike Shedlock

[Regulator]

This is fabulous to see.

Property taxes evolved from the feud - the deal between the vassals and their estate lords. You defend us, we give you one third of the crops.

Or more.

This whole protection racket had an unspoken threat: don't pay the tax, and you'll need protection from the protector.

So it's just a perpetuation of feudalism, and the reign of the thugs over the productive.

Which brings up another point: property taxes were never meant to be a tax on principle residence. They were supposed to be a tax on production - and since pretty much everyone made their living off the land up till about 100 years ago, the only way you got income was from your property.

Most states have a homestead deduction on their property tax bill. This is a remnant of that concept: property tax didn't apply to the farmhouse, but rather the production of the farm.

The idea of losing your house to the tax man was anathema to free people. Thus the deduction.

So end the property tax. We have excise taxes and income taxes. We should end the latter of those too, but it's at least only exacted when you make money, not simply because you have a place to sleep.

[quantim]

The place to start is privatizing education, elimination of public sector parasite unions as a result, and the abolishment of the Dept. of Ed.

Then we can worry about cutting property taxes starting, well everywhere.

[econjack]

Generally, there are two theories for taxes: 1) ability to pay (e.g., federal income taxes) and 2) benefits received (e.g., gasoline tax). Property taxes don't fit into either one...it's a crappy tax based on wealth, not income. It impacts retired people heavily who often have reduced incomes (violates principle #1) and don't have kids in schools (violates principle #2) which is where a huge chunk of property taxes go.

Solution? I really don't see property taxes going away any time soon. However, I would like to see credits issued for property taxes paid that could be sold in the open market. For example, if I paid $2000 in property taxes, I'd have a piece of paper I could sell to someone who has kids in school which they could use to pay their kids “tuition” for public schooling. Further, the credit could be used for private schools, too. This would force public schools to get their act together or fade away.

[onedoug]

In CA this would quickly be invalidated by the courts...even before it was voted on.

[joe fonebone]

property taxes are a crime....i watch my wifes grandparents lose their little cottage on a lake (prior to michigans headlee amendment) people started buying up the little cottages and building very large mansion type homes on the lake.. their taxes shot up so much they could no longer afford to live in their PAID FOR retirement home... property taxes are a crime..

[Republic Rocker]

PROP 13 !!! The last wall between me and my government destroying me... The Jarvis Group will be pleased to hear other states r finally getting it!

[Eska]

Over much of rural Alaska, no property taxes; and it's the one concept everybody here wants to preserve, no changes. It also forces communities to live on the what the state gives them from the oil profits.

Sure the urban areas such as Anchorage have property taxes and spend 1/3 to 1/2 more on education spending/student; but you don't see positive results in the test scores.

The state politicals go crazy thinking about us rural Alaskans not having property taxes; forever talking about head tax and other taxes that would capture the bucks slipping through their greedy hands.

[Whats-wrong-with-the-truth]

Works for me. I'm all for paying no taxes. My problem is I'm not Timothy 'Franz' Geithner. When I owe tax I pay it. This is one instance where I am all for the liberal's "fairness doctrine" being applied. Why should I, a Conservative, be forced to pay taxes when they, the liberals, don't and worse, keep what I pay to pay for their perverted anti-American frills and entertainment? Or as the case is going to be this year... Why should I be paying for obomba's re-election?

Do away with all taxes or... if people can't handle not paying taxes let there be, at most, a 10-15% usury tax. Unions and government have put many small businesses out of business. I guarantee that business owners will have no problems finding non-union and non-government employees to plow snow.

[Smokin' Joe]

YES! There are some 33 other major taxes the State gets revenue from (ND), and a Billion dollar surplus. Time to quit paying the government rent.

[Titan Magroyne]

I recently read Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography. When he became involved in civic matters - by this time in Boston, I think - city-wide property tax was assessed per person or head-of-household, only to pay for firefighter services initially. Franklin argued that it wasn’t fair to charge the poor widow in a hovel the same amount of protection money as a wealthy landowner with extensive acreage - and so was born a system of property evaluation.

While it fixed the first problem, now the government got to snoop into what everybody owned and improvements thereto.

I’ll leave it to others to figure out how else a community is to fund emergency svcs like fire/police, but the government intrusion of property tax assessment is offensive on its face. The reason you seldom hear of assessors demanding entry into one’s home is that they know they’d be ridden out of town on a rail - if they’re lucky! - and the manner of their employment wouldn’t even exist. But by law, they can do so.

[T-Bird45]

You make an excellent point on the relationship of the vassals and the lords. The name we have for our homes and land, real estate, has the word royal (real) in it, again recognizing the approach that says everything belongs to the sovreign with the vassals/serfs being granted a small portion as long as they pay a tribute/tax (shades of the Hunger Games!!) to the sovreign.

[pterional]

If you could pay ten years of property taxes as a one time payment for permanent forgiveness of property taxation, a cash strapped state like CA would go for it.

[Vigilanteman]

Correct. And, I'll add that 1/18th of the land in every survey township was set up to provide for the education of the citizens therein in perpetuity.

Traditionally, sections 16 and 36 of each 36 square mile township were designated to support education.

The township was to either rent out this land and use the income generated to support education or sell the land and put the proceeds in trust to generate income to do the same.

In addition, the educational dollars were stretched as one or more landowners would typically donate land for a school and often a building as well. This ensured not only that their kids would have a short walk, but that the increased traffic would give their land priority for road improvements.

Generations of American kids were educated in such schools and few were dysfunctional. You can Google a typical graduation exam for eighth graders in Kansas, circa 1900, and you would be lucky to get 20% of modern American high school kids to pass the test.

[cripplecreek]

[Vigilanteman]

They sure would. And the "permancy" would end as soon as the bureaucracy decided they needed more money, though they might call it something else.

After all, if you are wealthy enough to pay ten years of property taxes up front, you can surely afford a modest increase in user fees.

[know-the-law]

sfl

[wintertime]

You Never Own Your Own Home

PROPERTY TAXES ARE RENT TO THE GOVERNMENT!!!

WE ARE A NATION OF RENTERS! THE GOVERNMENT IS THE LANDLORD!!!!

Yes! Indeed! I am jumping up and down and shouting! I am exasperated that so few of my fellow citizens understand this basic concept.

The majority of property taxes go to pay for the GODLESS and SOCIALIST-ENTITLEMENT government schools that teach a godless cultural, political, and religious worldview that is a First Amendment and freedom of conscience ABOMINATION and in complete contradiction of every value that I hold.

Also....With business property taxes ( building, land, and personal property such as tools, equipment, and computers) these taxes are **hidden** and passed on to the taxpayer in the price of everything with use and buy.

[cripplecreek]

Sucks to live in a house that’s paid off but I still have to pay for it or face losing it.

[calex59]

To ease the impact, alternatives have been rumored

The only alternative to be considered should be the cutting of spending. I wish the whole country would do away with property taxes, they are against freedom in every way possible. No one should have to pay the government for the right to live in homes they own or are buying.