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Abolish property tax?

Do you support the proposal described in the post?

  • Total voters
    56
C

Consistency

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Property tax is a violation of people's fundamental natural right to own one's own housing,
a right which is respected by all animal species other than humans (e.g. birds do not pay
property tax on their nests; rodents and rabbits do not pay property tax on their burrows, etc.).
Furthermore, property tax serves to make people dependent upon employers for money to pay
said property tax, rather than being independent. I therefore support the abolition of property tax,
and replacing it with income tax and sales tax.

Abolishing property tax creates a problem as a side-effect, which must likewise be eliminated:
That problem is the potential for land-hogging, in which ultra-rich people can buy up more land,
crowd out other people, and unnaturally raise the cost of real estate. Therefore the abolition of
property tax must be accompanied by a limit to the amount of land that a single person can own.
 
Consistency said:
Property tax is a violation of people's fundamental natural right to own one's own housing,
a right which is respected by all animal species other than humans (e.g. birds do not pay
property tax on their nests; rodents and rabbits do not pay property tax on their burrows, etc.).
Click to expand...
I suggest taxing those critters.
 
I am in favor of abolishing the property tax on a person's primary residence. But instead of putting a limit on how much land a person can own, still keep the property tax in place for property that is not a person's primary residence. I might also be in favor of abolishing it for land on which a small business is operated by a small business owner. But that has to be capped at some point because I don't want huge corporations using that to swallow up huge tracts of land.
 
Good luck with this. It probably should be abolished but never will.
 
Consistency said:
Property tax is a violation of people's fundamental natural right to own one's own housing,
a right which is respected by all animal species other than humans (e.g. birds do not pay
property tax on their nests; rodents and rabbits do not pay property tax on their burrows, etc.).
Furthermore, property tax serves to make people dependent upon employers for money to pay
said property tax, rather than being independent. I therefore support the abolition of property tax,
and replacing it with income tax and sales tax.

Abolishing property tax creates a problem as a side-effect, which must likewise be eliminated:
That problem is the potential for land-hogging, in which ultra-rich people can buy up more land,
crowd out other people, and unnaturally raise the cost of real estate. Therefore the abolition of
property tax must be accompanied by a limit to the amount of land that a single person can own.
Click to expand...

How do you propose to fund local infrastructure, police/fire and other expenses of running a city if property taxes were eliminated?
 
Gina said:
How do you propose to fund local infrastructure, police/fire and other expenses of running a city if property taxes were eliminated?
Click to expand...

Oh crap...some reasonable questions. :)

I'm sure. "the rich" will come up as one answer. Maybe the "gubmint"
 
Gina said:
How do you propose to fund local infrastructure, police/fire and other expenses of running a city if property taxes were eliminated?
Click to expand...

Other means of taxation, there are plenty of those.

Honestly I get that without property taxation there would be difficulty shifting burdens to cover the government income needed to handle local infrastructure, local government services, etc. The issue is always the same. On a fundamental level when you continually tax property you are saying someone never really owns that property, not sure I entirely agree with that but I understand what is trying to be said. Because we have so many means of taxation for a variety of reasons there is at least reason to explore the idea of limiting what all the government at all levels goes after. Does not mean we will really agree on that, just that the idea is worth looking into.
 
In Texas, Property Tax is one of the main taxes, I don't actually think it should be abolished,
but it needs to be revised quite a bit.
I think the taxable value of a Property, should only be changed at the time it is transferred.
Currently the appraisal on the property can increase up to 10% per year.
The net effect of this, is by the time a person completes a 30 year mortgage,
the amount of the taxes could exceed the the P&I of the mortgage payment.
The amount of taxes on a persons primary residence, freezes when they turn 65,
but at that point it could have been building for years.
An example would be someone is 50 years old, and is buying a home which the
current taxes is $400 per month. In the 15 till age 65, the monthly taxes could
balloon to over $1500 a month, where it would freeze.
 
Gina said:
How do you propose to fund local infrastructure, police/fire and other expenses of running a city if property taxes were eliminated?
Click to expand...

I already answered that in the original post: by replacing the property tax with income tax and sales tax.
 
You guys realize we need tax revenue for our society to function, correct? Our government, just like business uses revenue generated to invest back into society.
 
OrphanSlug said:
Good luck with this. It probably should be abolished but never will.
Click to expand...

Then the Govts. look for another pocket to make up for revenue loss.
 
JANFU said:
Then the Govts. look for another pocket to make up for revenue loss.
Click to expand...

No doubt, it would be foolish to suggest otherwise.
 
JANFU said:
I suggest taxing those critters.
Click to expand...

Any proposal along those lines would be stopped in its "tracks" by the powerful rodent lobby. Don't mess with squirrels or they'll mess with you!

Otoh, there is the old saying, "Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax that field mouse behind the tree."

One the "fundamental laws of economics" you often hear cited by conservatives is that if you tax something, you get less of it. Would eliminating the property tax create more of it?

Every quarter, I'm now writing checks for $820 to the town I live in, and I'm kinda poor. They sure take a bite out of my finances. Nevertheless, I would have liked a "Hell no!" choice in this poll. I grew up in this community and benefited a lot from its high-quality public school system, and I'm very happy with the notably professional police and fire services we get from the brave men and women who serve us in that regard.
 
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OrphanSlug said:
Other means of taxation, there are plenty of those.

Honestly I get that without property taxation there would be difficulty shifting burdens to cover the government income needed to handle local infrastructure, local government services, etc. The issue is always the same. On a fundamental level when you continually tax property you are saying someone never really owns that property, not sure I entirely agree with that but I understand what is trying to be said. Because we have so many means of taxation for a variety of reasons there is at least reason to explore the idea of limiting what all the government at all levels goes after. Does not mean we will really agree on that, just that the idea is worth looking into.
Click to expand...

I view property taxes in a different light. I own my property, but the city/county in which I live, supports my property. With infrastructure and services like police and fire. I have no problem with paying for those services. When we need something new, like a fire station (because the main station is over 70 years old and too small), or a school bond because ancient buildings are in need of serious upgrading for earthquakes as well as providing for new buildings due to over crowding, we vote for (or not) a tax increase. What other method of taxation could be so responsive to the needs of residents in cities and counties? The school bond was approved.
 
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Gina said:
I view property taxes in a different light. I own my property, but city/county in which I live, supports my property. With infrastructure and services like police and fire. I have no problem with paying for those services. When we need something new, like a fire station (because the main station is over 70 years old and too small), or a school bond because ancient buildings are in need of serious upgrading for earthquakes as well as providing for new buildings due to over crowding, we vote for (or not) a tax increase. What other method of taxation could be so responsive to the needs of residents in cities and counties? The school bond was approved.
Click to expand...

Because it's tyranny :roll:
 
No one is pointing a gun to your head and forcing you to own property. If you don't want to contribute to the various functions that exist within communities that promote the general welfare, then don't own property.
 
Consistency said:
Property tax is a violation of people's fundamental natural right to own one's own housing,
a right which is respected by all animal species other than humans (e.g. birds do not pay
property tax on their nests; rodents and rabbits do not pay property tax on their burrows, etc.).
Furthermore, property tax serves to make people dependent upon employers for money to pay
said property tax, rather than being independent. I therefore support the abolition of property tax,
and replacing it with income tax and sales tax.

Abolishing property tax creates a problem as a side-effect, which must likewise be eliminated:
That problem is the potential for land-hogging, in which ultra-rich people can buy up more land,
crowd out other people, and unnaturally raise the cost of real estate. Therefore the abolition of
property tax must be accompanied by a limit to the amount of land that a single person can own.
Click to expand...

I agree regarding the Natural Right to Property, but what you seem to miss is the societal requirement for people to agree to fund government services that they wish a government to perform. One way that happens, on a local and in some cases a state level, is by property taxes. Property tax, however, is an unfair tax in that it "punishes" people that gain property through the fruits of their labor and "rewards" those that do not but still have a place to live via rent or lease. The use of property taxes to pay for those parts of government that are used by property owners makes sense - like paying for the fire department. However, everyone uses the police, the solid waste services (garbage man), and the like. Similarly, people that use public transportation should pay for their use of the transportation, plus in that fee should be the equivalent tax for road maintenance that car owners pay when they buy gas for their car. Which brings up road taxes for those that use the road. And property taxes for those that own cars - you may need the fire department if you crash your car or it catches fire.

You see, there are a number of reasons for different types of taxes, and property taxes are one type of tax that we have agreed upon to pay for services provided by the government.

If you don't like the system, you have the Natural Rights of Protest and seeking Redress to change the system, as well as the Natural Right of Association to find others that agree with you (as you re doing in this thread) to join in your attempt to change the system.

Here's the dig though, we as a people have come together as a societal association and formed a government to serve as an arbiter of grievances, purveyor of law and regulations, and provider of common service required by society to function as a society to protect life, health and safety, as well as to promulgate commerce and allow for individuals to pursue happiness in life. To accomplish this, we have agreed to temporarily and in an extremely limited way allow the government to override some parts of our Natural Rights for the good of society as a whole. To make all that happen and continue to exist, we have also agreed that we will be required to pay a fee in the form of taxes to the government.

Now, to what extent we allow government to infringe upon our Natural Rights and the level to which we subjugate ourselves as individuals to the desires of the masses is the reason this web site exists because that dilemma is the debate of the ages when it comes to politics and society as a whole.

I guess I could have just skipped everything above and simply stated this: Your second paragraph is in complete contradiction to the first sentence in your first paragraph. So no.
 
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Nah, I would rather abolish both income taxes and property taxes. I don't want the government to have ownership of my income and I don't want to be treated like a renter.
 
Beaudreaux said:
it "punishes" people that gain property through the fruits of their labor and "rewards" those that do not but still have a place to live via rent or lease.
Click to expand...

Aren't property taxes effectively included in rents/leases?
 
Beaudreaux said:
I agree regarding the Natural Right to Property, but what you seem to miss is the societal requirement for people to agree to fund government services that they wish a government to perform. One way that happens, on a local and in some cases a state level, is by property taxes. Property tax, however, is an unfair tax in that it "punishes" people that gain property through the fruits of their labor and "rewards" those that do not but still have a place to live via rent or lease. The use of property taxes to pay for those parts of government that are used by property owners makes sense - like paying for the fire department. However, everyone uses the police, the solid waste services (garbage man), and the like. Similarly, people that use public transportation should pay for their use of the transportation, plus in that fee should be the equivalent tax for road maintenance that car owners pay when they buy gas for their car. Which brings up road taxes for those that use the road. And property taxes for those that own cars - you may need the fire department if you crash your car or it catches fire.

You see, there are a number of reasons for different types of taxes, and property taxes are one type of tax that we have agreed upon to pay for services provided by the government.

If you don't like the system, you have the Natural Rights of Protest and seeking Redress to change the system, as well as the Natural Right of Association to find others that agree with you (as you re doing in this thread) to join in your attempt to change the system.

Here's the dig though, we as a people have come together as a societal association and formed a government to serve as an arbiter of grievances, purveyor of law and regulations, and provider of common service required by society to function as a society to protect life, health and safety, as well as to promulgate commerce and allow for individuals to pursue happiness in life. To accomplish this, we have agreed to temporarily and in an extremely limited way allow the government to override some parts of our Natural Rights for the good of society as a whole. To make all that happen and continue to exist, we have also agreed that we will be required to pay a fee in the form of taxes to the government.

Now, to what extent we allow government to infringe upon our Natural Rights and the level to which we subjugate ourselves as individuals to the desires of the masses is the reason this web site exists because that dilemma is the debate of the ages when it comes to politics and society as a whole.
Click to expand...


To the bolded, renters pay the property taxes of their landlords for the property they live on via that rent. No one escapes property taxes, except the homeless.
 
Henrin said:
Nah, I would rather abolish both income taxes and property taxes. I don't want the government to have ownership of my income and I don't want to be treated like a renter.
Click to expand...

The roads on which you drive, fire, police, ambulance, water systems (to name but a few) have no value to you, I gather.
 
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