This one is at my place.
VOTE FOR MEDINA IN MARCH 2ND 2010 PRIMARY FOR TEXAS GOVERNOR SHE IS FOR ELIMIINATION OF PROPERTY TAX
Posted on 02/16/2010 2:55:22 PM PST by Dubya
Fort Worth-area voters have long been considered among the most conservative in Texas, and it shows in their responses in a new poll for the Star-Telegram and other major newspapers in the state.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcclatchydc.com ...
Don’t forget Wise County in that mix...
Nope. No truthers. Perry for Texas 2010!
There are still quite a few Americans living in this country. A lot of them live in Texas.
The 9/11 truther is nutz. What a dope she is.
Sorry, Medina has lost the votes of my wife and me. We thought that she speaks the truth, but it turns out she speaks “Truther”.
Medina has permanently lost the votes of my wife, me, my mother, my father, my sister, my brother, and all of my inlaws — all conservatives, all faithful Christians, and all supporting Perry.
I will not cast a vote for a woman that entertains the absurd rants of anti-American “truther” propagandists. As far as I’m concerned, her candidacy no longer exists.
SnakeDoc
I'm not convinced enough to argue about this one, but I think there is is some need for radical libertarian ideas in Texas. Again I did not like the choices!
Oh yea, I’m flame ready now.
Thanks for letting me know. All of the Christians I know want vote for Perry.
Very well said. Thanks for your vote. I believe we that vote for tax reform are getting peoples attention. I hope it will pay off soon.
My family is very torn over this one. But we all share the same values, and are respecting each others decision. It’s tough. I count 6 for medina and 4 for Perry. Nobody is happy with the choices.
Thanks looks like you guys are doing a good job.
A property tax puts the owner in a “use it or lose it” situation. Property taxes are raised to the point on property that the owner must use it (develop the property, rent it, do something to derive immediate income from it to cover the taxes) or lose it (sell it or have the gov. take it away).
That’s true, I used to own property for the enjoyment of it. Too bad people today can’t do that. I had 80 acres loaded with trees, a creek, stock tanks, fish and game. A place I could take my family and myself for an enjoyable time. I sold it because of taxes.
Think about apartments and home rentals being lowered after owners no longer owe property tax. Think about Texans having all that extra money to spend or invest? Even if the sales tax goes up to the maximum estimate of 15%, food and utilities and probably other items will be exempt so even the poorest get a fair shake and like you say, share in paying for their children’s education.
Spreading the burden across all consumers is the most sensible way finance the state’s needs and I like to think Texas will pioneer this and show the way for others to follow.
Star-Telegram.com
Heflin: Texas can end the property tax
Posted Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010
By TALMADGE HEFLIN
Special to the star-Telegram
If you’re a homeowner in Texas, hopefully you’ve already paid your property taxes. Miss today’s deadline, and what was already a hefty and growing tax bill will become even larger.
The Texas Legislature and our last two governors have acted in good faith to reduce property taxes, but the combination of rising property valuations and local government excesses has caused property taxes to continue their surge. So what can our state do to relieve this burden?
Last spring, the Texas Public Policy Foundation asked Arduin, Laffer & Moore Econometrics, LLC, to answer this question, “How can Texas eliminate the burden of property taxes and still meet the needs of Texans?” Their answer: a broad-based sales tax.
By broadening the sales tax base and adjusting the rate, “lost” property tax revenue could be replaced with additional sales tax revenue, thereby getting rid of the need for property taxes.
A major burden on homeowners and businesses could finally be lifted — and would require only relatively modest changes.
If the state were to eliminate property taxes today, for example, and replace them with a broad-based sales tax, the rate could be as low as 9 percent, if it taxed all services that are taxed in at least one other state. This adjustment would be revenue neutral. In other words, it would generate the same amount of money for state and local governments as the current system.
Or the newly adjusted sales tax rate could be set at 12.5 percent, which would tax the current base plus the sale of property and, again, still generate the same amount of revenue.
Whatever policymakers decide, the research clearly shows that abandoning the property tax system is not only possible, but it is relatively simple. And there are a number of economic incentives to do so.
Their research demonstrated that personal income, a measure of the state’s wealth, in Texas could increase by as much as $3.3 billion in the first year. Over five years, the state’s wealth could potentially see gains of $52 billion.
In addition to creating a wealthier society, “the proposed tax reform would lead to a net gain of new jobs, during a five-year horizon, between 127,700 and 312,700 over the job growth Texas would have had if no tax reform were implemented.”
This fact alone — generating between 100,000 to 300,000 jobs — should be enough to give people pause and reconsider how we pay for government.
The tax swap could also help de-bureaucratize local governments around the state. Right now, more than 3,700 local governmental entities — cities, counties, school districts — administer a property tax. With the elimination of this system, these resources could be focused elsewhere.
Perhaps the greatest incentive, though, has nothing to do with creating wealth, adding jobs to the state’s economy or reducing the size of government. It has to do with individual liberty.
So long as Texas’ property tax system remains in place, no man or woman who owns a home or operates a business or has property of any kind will ever truly own what they possess.
Right now, all of us rent from the government. Indefinitely.
Failure to pay your local property taxes in Texas means that the government has the right to seize your property, whether you own it outright or not. Is this the kind of system we want?
Owning property is a fundamental right of every Texan — of every American — and there are better ways to raise money to pay for government than threatening to take the homes and businesses of our state’s residents.
And if we can improve our economy and create jobs in the process, is that not all the more reason to do so?
It is time to abandon the property tax system and, in the process, make ourselves all the better for it.
Talmadge Heflin is director of the Austin-based Center for Fiscal Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He is a former chairman of the Texas House Appropriations Committee.
We’re Christian conservatives who are voting for Perry. I do think he sees which way the wind is blowing politically and can be counted on to fight some of the federal edicts/laws coming our way. I don’t think Medina or KBH would do so.
I heard Medina’s response to Glenn Beck when he asked her about the truthers. I must say I was disappointed in her hemming and hawing....I won’t vote for her now.
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