Taxpayers Livid in Davis [138% Increase in Property Taxes]

Salt Lake Tribune ^ | Tuesday, December 03, 2002 | LORI BUTTARS

[IMHO]

Wow, Republicans raising taxes? Who'da thunk it?

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

It wasn't long into the three-hour proceeding that chants of "No more taxes!" arose in the hallways.

Have the people marching down the streets by the thousands shouting it and that'll be a good beginning.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

You know, I wonder what it would mean if Bush personally phoned each one of these guys at home and ripped them a new arss? Followed up by a visit from a few really big unpleasant males who's names end with vowels to have a sit-down with them.

As satisfying as that may sound dog, it goes against just about everything that the Constitution of the United States stands for. Think about it. The Federal Government telling an individual state how it can and cannot tax its citizens? I know, I know...it happens all the time when they dangle "Federal Highway" dollars in front of a state's nose...but what you suggest is a bit different.

[EGPWS]

Who will fill these new jail cells? Non-violent drug offenders, perchance?

Judging by the emotion in the article the inhabitants could very well be "county commissioners"!

[tom paine 2]

I live in Wisconsin. I am not happy about that. We are the third highest taxed state in the country. I am currently paying over $3000/year in property taxes. If you guys out in Utah don't clamp down on spending you'll be renting your house from the County Board too. How about a new idea? Let the County Board suffer the pain and leave the taxpayers alone.

[blackdog]

Yes, I guess so. But it sure would be a good day to be a fly on the wall.

[Karsus]

The way Bush spends taxpayers money he would be more likely to call them and say 'Good Job!'

[blackdog]

I guess I've been in Wisconsin too long. Quite a different story here. They've been building county detention facilities like gangbusters. It was the latest trend a few years ago. $25,000,000 a copy. No real criminals in them though. Nasty criminals are bad for morale and motivation. They look like medium rise office buildings from the outside. If it was not for all the cherry topped cars outside, you would think doctor's offices were inside. I am certain that Utah is quite different than Wisconsin. Give it time though, it sounds like you're on your way.

[Dick Bachert]

Bet most of the commission members are also LDS church, so, like, what happened to the Mormon philosophy that secular government is to be highly limited in function, scope and cost?

[blackdog]

Wait until the school boards hear of the victory of a 138% tax increase! They will demand a 150% increase since we can't leave a child behind. If the public doesn't go nuts over this, the rest of county government will kill each other over those spoils!

[RJL]

Sanity check here...

These guys pay about 25% of the normal tax load for property in Utah, with the changes they are coming up to 55% of the normal tax load.

I'm a few miles away and for me a $170,000 house commands about $800 a year in taxes.

This 138% increase is only on the county portion of their property tax bill. I am sure that their total property tax bill is much higher.

[Sundog]

Wisconsin, Dear to my heart. I was a radio announcer at WDOR Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin for a year. (Hard life, $700/month to live on. Rented a room, no property tax woes.)

Really though, it appears the county jail is warranted. It appears taxes are about 0.08% of property values ($100,000 home gets $80 a year in property taxes.) Local perception is that it is a fairly lawless corridor of the state up there. The inability to incarcerate individuals has long been reported and it tends to attract those who need to avoid it.

Rising taxes is a pain, but do you remember the 'boiled frog analogy'? There have been a few posts about it recently. In fact, there was the running FR poll about taxes. I never saw the results though.

Is there a definitive answer? Should government take back fiscal responsibility from the federal reserve banks? Should new money be given first to the government? Should tariffs or a VAT be the only source of revenue? Should we have a model like Venezuela or Mexico where one nationalized industry (petroleum) provides the money for social programs?

Down to more fundamental questions, how do you get an ethical government? Who should be entitled to spend public funds and on what? Where a republic has laws and a democracy elects leaders to enforce them, what stops bandits from running for office and legalizing theft?

We are all the way down to Benjamin Franklin's proverbial answer of two centries ago when he walked out of the 1789 constitutional convention for the last time: "Madam, we have a government if you can keep it."

Cheers.

[snippy_about_it]

Same here, in Ohio you'd be paying 3500-4000.

[Sundog]

Really?

Where are you from?

The point on the news was not that the county part went up 138%, but that the total went up 138%.

Really.

[pepsionice]

Pardon me for not standing near these folks...but they are paying almost nothing on a house valued at more than $150k...so I don't really believe in their cause. The bottom line is that most folks start having expectations about roads, bridges, fire department locations, etc...and these all relate to county costs...which relate to local taxes. I would guess that the same folks have been yelling about improving roads for 10 years...and the local government finally got in the mood to fix the roads....but it is not a free ride.

[tom paine 2]

Since you are aware of one of Ben Franklin's more succinct saying, then you probably know why I chose Tom Paine as my user name. The government answer is always more taxes, not how can we do things differently or how do we change the dynamic. Your prison situation is a perfect example. How many of the potential prisoners are illegal immigrants? Deport Em. Maybe you put up a prison (tents) like the Sheriff down in Arizona, Joe Arpajo. Make it so tough that nobody wants to go to jail. We can only have the government we can afford.

[codercpc]

You are so right, my $95,000 house in mid-Wisconsin is $1,600.00 a year and I live 5 miles away from a town where the same house would have a $2,500 a year.

But we have a great school system LOL.

[GailA]

Tennessee Tax Revolt BUMP

[Sundog]

You are good.

If you would consider the odd correlary to what you are explaining, consider this: What happens when the economics of the country depend upon the illegal immigrants the government is deporting?

What happens when the thieves have been elected and legalized theft?

I like the Rudyard Kipling observation about the dream of life in a true Liberal government: Where all men should eat for free and no man should be held accountable for his sins.

What happens when the poor refuse to work and heed those who say they don't have to?

(I remember Thomas Paine, 1737-1809 Political Philosopher and Author.)

Cheers.

p.s. Would you check out Frederic Bastiat

or just the exerpt Property and Plunder

Please do.

[GailA]

IF you live in Memphis you pay BOTH tax rates.

IF you live in the burbs, there is a city tax for which ever city you are in.

Memphis - The average sales price of the 7,130 Memphis homes sold in 2001 was $111,849. Home price appreciation rates vary widely from neighborhood to neighborhood and can be provided by your Realtor®. Memphis’s property tax rate is $3.23 per $100 of assessed value. The annual combined city/county property tax liability for a $100,000 home in Memphis would be $1,755.

Tax Rates. Under state law, counties and municipalities are permitted to establish the tax rate. Tax rates are presented in a dollar rate per $100 of assessed value. Current tax rates in Fayette, Shelby and Tipton Counties are $1.845, $3.79, and $2.92, respectively. Municipality tax rates within these counties are Arlington - $1; Bartlett - $1.23; Collierville - $1.45; Covington – $1.61; Germantown - $1.30; Memphis - $3.2304; Millington - $1.23; and Somerville - $.54.