Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Property Taxes
In the February 19th Denver Post, they have an article about the "Sky-high" property taxes igniting voter outrage. They discuss the issue of the three legged stool of which tax revenues come from, income, sales and property taxes. The Supreme Court of Texas ruled that the current property tax for the state is unconstitutional and the legislators must come up with a new policy by June 1st. Other states are having concerns about raising property taxes, such as Indiana and Idaho.
Property taxes have a key role in supporting public schools and safety, but many feel that this part of tax revenues is being stretched too far. I remember when I lived in Illinois; we had elections about 6 times a year to raise property taxes for the local schools. Ads were run on the TV saying that if you didn't vote for the schools than you were hurting the kids. Now if anyone would take a tour of the schools and see the automatic drinking fountains, sculptures, or automatic toilets, I would hope they would ask "is this where my money went?". These taxes were passed several times in the first 4 years but I believe that people became aware of the significance of their money and how it is being spent. So many times, people go off of what they hear on TV or from a friend. Until YOU research it and find the benefits you can gain from that decision vs. the costs of making that decision, you may be voting for something you don't want.
Things back in IL had to get so ridiculous before people felt the need to look into what was going on with policies that were being passed. This article shows that property taxes are very controversial and people are getting to the point where the costs of owning a home are greater than the benefits they feel they are receiving.
Property taxes have a key role in supporting public schools and safety, but many feel that this part of tax revenues is being stretched too far. I remember when I lived in Illinois; we had elections about 6 times a year to raise property taxes for the local schools. Ads were run on the TV saying that if you didn't vote for the schools than you were hurting the kids. Now if anyone would take a tour of the schools and see the automatic drinking fountains, sculptures, or automatic toilets, I would hope they would ask "is this where my money went?". These taxes were passed several times in the first 4 years but I believe that people became aware of the significance of their money and how it is being spent. So many times, people go off of what they hear on TV or from a friend. Until YOU research it and find the benefits you can gain from that decision vs. the costs of making that decision, you may be voting for something you don't want.
Things back in IL had to get so ridiculous before people felt the need to look into what was going on with policies that were being passed. This article shows that property taxes are very controversial and people are getting to the point where the costs of owning a home are greater than the benefits they feel they are receiving.
