Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
Posted on 03/31/2005 5:39:21 AM PST by TXBSAFH
I plan on protesting mine (even if it goes down).
You coming down from NJ? Another Yankee --- there goes the neighborhood, ROFLOL.
Texas or as one poster put it "Taxes" is getting just as bad.
Sort of the reverse of that idea: People own their land outright, and don't rent it from the government, and the government reduces its scope and gets the money it needs to operate from elsewhere. (E.g. phone, gas, electricity, sewer, drainage, sales, income, and excise taxes, fees, traffic tickets ... do you suppose that could possibly be enough?)
Hey, I have grown to love yankees. My wife is from Methuen Mass. I do not have a choose.
bump
Robert Heinlein proposed this idea in several of his novels. My main problem with it, is that if someone had a family property that they didn't want to sell. This system would force them to massively overvalue their property (and thus pay a lot more taxes than they would reasonably owe) if they wanted to keep it in the family.
PING
LOL...planning on moving to CO......but it's going downhill too.
I was thinking Alaska but that is too cold for me.
What about secession and starting our own country? ROFLOL.
Tell me where....or we can become clones of John Galt.
florida does something similar.
In FL your home's (you only get one homestead) taxes can not increase more than 3.5% max per year. So the appraisers jack up the valusation as much as possible so when the homestead is sold, the tax amount is rebooted. Thus a longtime owner could be paying $1,000.00 but after the sale the new owner's rebooted rate could be $4,000.00
What really gets me in this discussion is the following:
1) The appraisal caps only reduce the rate of growth in government spending. Forget about actuallly cutting spending (TX politicans have turned into DC politicians).
2) If the local entities really need more money, they can ask the voters to raise the tax rates. The appraisals are set by the appraisal districts, so the local government gets more tax cash withour "raising taxes".
3) It looks like we will get increase sales tax and a new payroll tax without ANY property tax relief. The reduction in tax rate for schools will be only temporary as the appraisal increases will quickly erode the benefit.
4) Many of the opponents are Republicans. If no tax relief is passed this session, can you say "Democrat Controlled TX State Legislator"? Then we face more tax increases and another round of redistricting where the U.S. Congressional breakdown would be Dem 32 Rep 0 (and I am not joking).
5) As the article states, they are artificially jacking up the appraisals in some towns to satisfy budget demands. I know the 2004 appraised value of every house in my sub-division (I have one of the bigger homes). The information is public record and available on-line. Information will be used in the protest I am contemplating.
6) Another interesting point. Some politicans against the appraisal caps have had zero increase of appraisal value in recent years. Conspiracy? I would give odds on it.
BTT
Unless things have changed since Aug. '02 when I moved to TX, the Chicago Teachers' Union required that all administrative personnel working in the main Chicago school headquarters have TEACHING CERTIFICATES. Receptionists, secretaries, file clerks, etc. all received the same pay, raises and benefits as those in the classroom. Featherbedding at its zenith.
We have received an overwhelming number of inquiries into who people should contact to demand a formal investigation into the revelations LST has made concerning FISD’s interactions with GCAD.
The good news is that an investigation is already underway. TX Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office has had this letter in its possession for over three weeks, and the matter is under review.
What you can do, however, is encourage them to pursue the investigation– not just into FISD and GCAD, but into the statewide practices of tax entities and appraisal districts.
Doing this is a little tricky– the AG’s office gets tons of phone calls on a wide variety of issues, and while the staff is polite and helpful, they have been trained to try to fit you into a particular "box" on their organizational chart. If you don’t fit perfectly, you’ll wind up in the wrong place or be told you need to call the Galveston Co. District Attorney, the State AG doesn’t handle this sort of thing, etc. etc.
So follow these instructions to the letter and you should be fine:
Call the AG’s office toll-free at 1-800-252-8011. (Para Espanol, por favor, primer numero uno ahora.) Tell the switchboard operator– using this exact language– the following:
"Hello, I would like to speak with a public information officer about encouraging the Attorney General to pursue an ongoing investigation."
NOTE: Don’t bother telling the switchboard operator what the investigation is about, how outraged you are, how your appraisal is too high, how your bunions hurt, or anything else. You are only going to complicate things and make it more likely you will be sent to the wrong "box".
You will be transfered. Once you connect with a public information officer, give them your name and city of residence. When they ask you the nature of your call simply say the following– word for word:
"I am calling to encourage the Attorney General to pursue his ongoing investigation of the interactions between FISD and GCAD, and to encourage him to expand his investigation into the possibility of similar actions taking place between taxing entities and appraisal district statewide. Thank you."
NOTE: Again, say nothing about what happened in your last appraisal protest hearing or about your neighbor’s barking dog; they don’t want to hear it, they can’t do anything about it, you will only complicate matters.
If the public information officer tells you this isn’t the right number to call, the AG doesn’t handle this sort of thing, etc., simply tell them:
"I appreciate what you are saying, but that determination has already been made. The investigation is already ongoing in AG Abbott’s office. I am simply encouraging him to pursue further a matter he is already looking into. Thank you."
Leave us a comment here at LST to let us know how your phone calls are going.
Btt
btt
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.
Well, yeah, but people will build in a comfortable bonus for themselves and a penalty for buyers and then they'll have added incentive to agitate for a lower tax rate, too! Don't forget that the system as it stands already allows condemnation for valuation. Would you prefer the government set that value or the homeowner? I know which one I'd be happier about!
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