Posted on 06/02/2014 7:18:13 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Im at the breaking point, said Gretchen Gardner, an Austin artist who bought a 1930s bungalow in the Bouldin neighborhood just south of downtown in 1991 and has watched her property tax bill soar to $8,500 this year.
Its not because I dont like paying taxes, said Gardner, who attended both meetings. I have voted for every park, every library, all the school improvements, for light rail, for anything that will make this city better. But now I cant afford to live here anymore. Ill protest my appraisal notice, but thats not enough. Someone needs to step in and address the big picture.
I’m really just bringing this to your attention for this quote alone. Voting and paying are different endeavors entirely. Often, when one has to pay for the things one has voted to fund, that decision becomes less flippant. This is a comment, less on the specifics of Texas’ or Austin’s tax system than the blaring disconnect between liberals in Austin who are voting for higher taxes and the actual paying of the taxes. Which, as it turns out, is painful, discouraging, and can be a detriment to the fabric of the city.
In Texas, there are more than 3,900 localities that impose property taxes, including school districts, counties, and special districts. Texas property tax burden has grown from approximately 1 percent of value in the early 1980s to nearly 3 percent today.
The rising burden from property tax is worse for the housing-rich but income-poor elderly homeowners. For example, elderly homeowners tend to move more often to reduce their property tax burden, which is an additional cost of owning a home for those who can least afford to move.
Interestingly, another reason voters hate property taxes is because they are more salient. A salient tax means that the burden is transparent, easy to understand, and hard to avoid. If paid directly, property taxes are found to be more salient compared with sales taxes applied at checkout or income taxes withheld from a paycheck.
In 2012, the free-market think tank suggested swapping the local property tax for a sales tax:
New research suggests that if Texas eliminates its local property tax system, ranked as the 14th most oppressive in the nation, and instead replaces those lost revenues with an adjusted sales tax, then the ensuing flood of capital investment and business activity could ignite the Texas economy for years to come.
Thats right, just by changing how Texas governments collect public dollarsbut not how much they spendthe Legislature can give the economy and peoples wallets a major boost.
By how much, you ask? Our estimates suggest quite a bit.
Either way, I don’t think Gretchen Gardner is ever going to make the connection between her voting pattern and her bill.
It's a partial wealth tax.
They all say that...”It’s not that I don’t want to pay taxes...”
Uh huh
Liberals. Too stupid to be idiots.
There it is, short & sweet.
As that California lib put it: "Of course I want the poor to have healthcare, but I didn't think I would have to pay for it!"
Let them pay for their own stupidity.
And there are the dumbass renters who vote for every park, yada yada.
And are stunned that their landlord raises rents because his property taxes increased.
I doubt they ever become aware of actual "reality." I'm sure the "big picture" she has in mind involves having "the rich" pay for the stuff she votes for. These people believe in Utopia and the Tooth Fairy.
Free-market suggested swapping local property taxes for sales tax?
Are you kidding me? Just another way of taking money from folks to feed leviathan. How about reducing the size and scope of government so taxes would be less oppressive.
Hey Gretchen..You tried with your votes, but now.... Its time for YOU to address the “big picture” u created...put the barrel in your mouth and pull the damned trigger...You'll feel much better about yourself and your votes shortly after...
So many are so uninformed that they do not know there is a connection between property taxes and monthly house payments.
LOL, they give idiots a bad name.
Liberals aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they are, to paraphrase Al Haig “in charge here!”
“But I just voted for a bunch of government spending. Someone else I supposed to pay the taxes.”
Gretchen: Drop dead. You voted for it. You own/owe it.
Good luck in your new Obama-approved paper box house.
Dumb ahole. What did you expect, lower taxes?
Some people are pepertually stuck on stupid.
High taxes are supposed to be painful you stupid schmucks.
I second your Bwhahahahaha.
Libs would be cute if they weren't so dangerously dumb.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.