How to fairly tax the people
Jan. 16th, 2008 10:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spirithorse21"In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes." ~Benjamin Franklin
Taxes are a problem that we must all face. And how we are taxed varies from country to country. But just recently in Indiana, the problem of taxes has become mutinous. I do not know if other countries utilize a property tax, but in most states in the US, we do. And in Indiana, those property taxes has spiraled out of control, double and tripling last year--without warning. Most home owners were blind sided by their new property taxes and caught unable to pay the whole bill at once. Many small non-profit organizations in outlaying areas fear that they may soon be unable to pay their property tax bills if the current trend continues.
Today, in the Indianapolis Star, I was greeted with this headline: Daniels on property tax reform: We'll work 'as long as it takes'
The story is behind the cut, complete with link to the original story.
Gov. Mitch Daniels smiled at lawmakers when he said it, but the warning was clear in his State of the State speech Tuesday night: He’ll keep them at work in a special session until they achieve property tax relief that is “fair, far-reaching and final.”
“We must resolve to stay at it until success is achieved,” he told legislators sitting in front of him in the Indiana House chamber. “Please don’t make spring break reservations without a refundable ticket, because we’re all staying as long as it takes.”
The legislators laughed, possibly because none of them need to be told that their political futures are at stake in this legislative session dominated by property tax relief.
In fact, Daniels urged lawmakers to reach agreement even earlier than their March 14 deadline dictates — on Feb. 26, when former Gov. Otis “Doc” Bowen turns 90.
"Passage of property tax reform would be “an excellent birthday present and a fitting tribute to this great man,” Daniels said.
Bowen was among the guests in the House gallery for the speech, and Daniels’ praise brought legislators to their feet in one of the biggest ovations of the evening.
Bowen, a Republican who served as governor from 1973 to 1981, made property tax reform the hallmark of his administration. But those reforms have eroded over the years.
The situation reached crisis proportions last year in many counties, including Marion, where homeowners saw their property tax bills double or even triple. Estimates have placed the average increase statewide at about 24 percent.
Party leaders praise tone
Legislative leaders in both parties praised the positive tone of the governor’s speech but acknowledged that a tough fight is ahead.
“He’s got to sell the plan,” said House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend. “In his fourth year (as governor), he has finally realized we have this crisis. It’s not too late to do something.”
Tuesday’s speech, Bauer said, is a “good start” toward winning passage of reforms. A second important opportunity will come today when Daniels, for the first time as governor, testifies before the House Ways and Means Committee.
Public anger about property taxes has spurred grass-roots support for the elimination of property taxes and fueled a move by some legislators to eliminate them at least for homeowners.
About 50 protesters came to the Statehouse, carrying signs that read: “Let Us Vote.” As Daniels walked to the House to begin his speech, the chant of “Repeal! Repeal!” echoed in the Rotunda.
Mildred Ballard, 65, Sellersburg, who was among the protesters, said her property taxes “are so high, you can’t hardly pay them anymore.”
Daniels, though, made no mention of the elimination of property taxes in his
speech.
Daniels focuses on plan’s basics
Instead, he focused on the basics of the plan he first laid out in a televised speech in October.
Those include, he said, immediate relief for homeowners, delivered in part by increasing the state sales tax to 7 percent from the current 6 percent; permanent protection by enacting a constitutional amendment that limits homeowners’ bills to 1 percent of their home’s assessed valuation, and by shifting child welfare and some school costs to the state; and limits on local spending, including requiring referendums so voters have the final say on major construction projects.
The plan, already being heard in Senate and House committees, has garnered a lot of opposition, including from business groups angered that homeowners’ bills would be capped at 1 percent while businesses’ property taxes would be capped at 3.percent; and from schools and local governments that fear drastic service cuts or the necessity of increasing local income taxes.
Daniels’ 25-minute speech was interrupted by applause 22 times, with Democrats joining in on 15 of those ovations.
He won one of his biggest cheers when he told legislators not to be swayed by lobbyists picking the plan apart.
“To tax less, you must first spend less, so you must say a polite ‘no’ to the spenders and their lobbyists and an emphatic ‘yes’ to the overburdened property taxes of Indiana,” he said, winning his first of five standing ovations.
Daniels presses his case
To critics who might balk at raising the sales tax, Daniels argued that his plan would deliver $1.19 in tax cuts for every dollar of new sales tax revenue — a number that would grow close to $2 once spending controls are enacted.
“Let’s show some bravery these next six weeks,” the governor urged legislators. “Some will say: ‘How brave do you have to be to vote for a huge tax cut?’ But we all know how strong the pressure of special interests can be, how relentless the criticism even from those with no plan of their own.”
Daniels called property tax relief this session’s “one paramount assignment,” and he made only one passing reference to any other new program: a proposal for a pilot project to explore nonjudicial alternatives to speed child support payments and collections.
Still, he used the first part of his speech — the fourth he’s given, and the first major speech of the year in which he seeks re-election — to tout his administration’s accomplishments, from shorter waiting periods at license branches to job growth.
But the focus on property taxes made it clear that none of that may matter if voters don’t see their bills go down. Outrage about property taxes was credited with contributing to last year’s political upset of Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson. And the man who beat him, Republican Greg Ballard, was among the guests Daniels invited to the speech.
I'm glad to see that our governor is finally concerned about this enough to force the issue, but I'm not sure that less spending, property tax caps, and a higher sales tax are going to get the job done. It seems like a great way to make everyone reach deeper into their pockets without actually asking those citizens most able to pay--the rich--to bear the greater burden off the shoulders of the poor, underprivileged, and lower middle class.
As an alternative, some legislators and many protesters are pushing to kill property taxes for homeowners and let business owners and farmers bear that burden alone. Sounds like a great way to bankrupt all farmers and most small businesses to me. In America, we support free enterprise. Hell, it's the 'American Dream' to own your own business. Sorry folks, but that ain't going to happen if our schools are going to be supported solely by small businesses and farmers. Way to be short sighted by your shallow pockets, Indiana.
Instead, I think we should consider a tax system that places the largest burden on those who are spending the most money. Many Americans today are rallying around the Fair Tax campaign and I think it's a good looking plan. The plan eliminates income tax and highly taxes new goods and services, meaning the more you spend, the more you're taxed. And who spends the most? The Rich! I don't know if this plan will ever take hold--the rich have too much power in this world and will certainly not support such a system. But perhaps the American public will speak up, and perhaps a few brave politicians will support the movement and bring it up for consideration. And then perhaps there will be so much public support that the politicians will have no choice but to follow their wishes and instate a new tax system.
http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer
I don't know if Fair Tax is the end all, be all of our tax problems, but it's a step in the right direction. What else might we consider?
Taxes are a problem that we must all face. And how we are taxed varies from country to country. But just recently in Indiana, the problem of taxes has become mutinous. I do not know if other countries utilize a property tax, but in most states in the US, we do. And in Indiana, those property taxes has spiraled out of control, double and tripling last year--without warning. Most home owners were blind sided by their new property taxes and caught unable to pay the whole bill at once. Many small non-profit organizations in outlaying areas fear that they may soon be unable to pay their property tax bills if the current trend continues.
Today, in the Indianapolis Star, I was greeted with this headline: Daniels on property tax reform: We'll work 'as long as it takes'
The story is behind the cut, complete with link to the original story.
Gov. Mitch Daniels smiled at lawmakers when he said it, but the warning was clear in his State of the State speech Tuesday night: He’ll keep them at work in a special session until they achieve property tax relief that is “fair, far-reaching and final.”
“We must resolve to stay at it until success is achieved,” he told legislators sitting in front of him in the Indiana House chamber. “Please don’t make spring break reservations without a refundable ticket, because we’re all staying as long as it takes.”
The legislators laughed, possibly because none of them need to be told that their political futures are at stake in this legislative session dominated by property tax relief.
In fact, Daniels urged lawmakers to reach agreement even earlier than their March 14 deadline dictates — on Feb. 26, when former Gov. Otis “Doc” Bowen turns 90.
"Passage of property tax reform would be “an excellent birthday present and a fitting tribute to this great man,” Daniels said.
Bowen was among the guests in the House gallery for the speech, and Daniels’ praise brought legislators to their feet in one of the biggest ovations of the evening.
Bowen, a Republican who served as governor from 1973 to 1981, made property tax reform the hallmark of his administration. But those reforms have eroded over the years.
The situation reached crisis proportions last year in many counties, including Marion, where homeowners saw their property tax bills double or even triple. Estimates have placed the average increase statewide at about 24 percent.
Party leaders praise tone
Legislative leaders in both parties praised the positive tone of the governor’s speech but acknowledged that a tough fight is ahead.
“He’s got to sell the plan,” said House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend. “In his fourth year (as governor), he has finally realized we have this crisis. It’s not too late to do something.”
Tuesday’s speech, Bauer said, is a “good start” toward winning passage of reforms. A second important opportunity will come today when Daniels, for the first time as governor, testifies before the House Ways and Means Committee.
Public anger about property taxes has spurred grass-roots support for the elimination of property taxes and fueled a move by some legislators to eliminate them at least for homeowners.
About 50 protesters came to the Statehouse, carrying signs that read: “Let Us Vote.” As Daniels walked to the House to begin his speech, the chant of “Repeal! Repeal!” echoed in the Rotunda.
Mildred Ballard, 65, Sellersburg, who was among the protesters, said her property taxes “are so high, you can’t hardly pay them anymore.”
Daniels, though, made no mention of the elimination of property taxes in his
speech.
Daniels focuses on plan’s basics
Instead, he focused on the basics of the plan he first laid out in a televised speech in October.
Those include, he said, immediate relief for homeowners, delivered in part by increasing the state sales tax to 7 percent from the current 6 percent; permanent protection by enacting a constitutional amendment that limits homeowners’ bills to 1 percent of their home’s assessed valuation, and by shifting child welfare and some school costs to the state; and limits on local spending, including requiring referendums so voters have the final say on major construction projects.
The plan, already being heard in Senate and House committees, has garnered a lot of opposition, including from business groups angered that homeowners’ bills would be capped at 1 percent while businesses’ property taxes would be capped at 3.percent; and from schools and local governments that fear drastic service cuts or the necessity of increasing local income taxes.
Daniels’ 25-minute speech was interrupted by applause 22 times, with Democrats joining in on 15 of those ovations.
He won one of his biggest cheers when he told legislators not to be swayed by lobbyists picking the plan apart.
“To tax less, you must first spend less, so you must say a polite ‘no’ to the spenders and their lobbyists and an emphatic ‘yes’ to the overburdened property taxes of Indiana,” he said, winning his first of five standing ovations.
Daniels presses his case
To critics who might balk at raising the sales tax, Daniels argued that his plan would deliver $1.19 in tax cuts for every dollar of new sales tax revenue — a number that would grow close to $2 once spending controls are enacted.
“Let’s show some bravery these next six weeks,” the governor urged legislators. “Some will say: ‘How brave do you have to be to vote for a huge tax cut?’ But we all know how strong the pressure of special interests can be, how relentless the criticism even from those with no plan of their own.”
Daniels called property tax relief this session’s “one paramount assignment,” and he made only one passing reference to any other new program: a proposal for a pilot project to explore nonjudicial alternatives to speed child support payments and collections.
Still, he used the first part of his speech — the fourth he’s given, and the first major speech of the year in which he seeks re-election — to tout his administration’s accomplishments, from shorter waiting periods at license branches to job growth.
But the focus on property taxes made it clear that none of that may matter if voters don’t see their bills go down. Outrage about property taxes was credited with contributing to last year’s political upset of Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson. And the man who beat him, Republican Greg Ballard, was among the guests Daniels invited to the speech.
I'm glad to see that our governor is finally concerned about this enough to force the issue, but I'm not sure that less spending, property tax caps, and a higher sales tax are going to get the job done. It seems like a great way to make everyone reach deeper into their pockets without actually asking those citizens most able to pay--the rich--to bear the greater burden off the shoulders of the poor, underprivileged, and lower middle class.
As an alternative, some legislators and many protesters are pushing to kill property taxes for homeowners and let business owners and farmers bear that burden alone. Sounds like a great way to bankrupt all farmers and most small businesses to me. In America, we support free enterprise. Hell, it's the 'American Dream' to own your own business. Sorry folks, but that ain't going to happen if our schools are going to be supported solely by small businesses and farmers. Way to be short sighted by your shallow pockets, Indiana.
Instead, I think we should consider a tax system that places the largest burden on those who are spending the most money. Many Americans today are rallying around the Fair Tax campaign and I think it's a good looking plan. The plan eliminates income tax and highly taxes new goods and services, meaning the more you spend, the more you're taxed. And who spends the most? The Rich! I don't know if this plan will ever take hold--the rich have too much power in this world and will certainly not support such a system. But perhaps the American public will speak up, and perhaps a few brave politicians will support the movement and bring it up for consideration. And then perhaps there will be so much public support that the politicians will have no choice but to follow their wishes and instate a new tax system.
http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer
I don't know if Fair Tax is the end all, be all of our tax problems, but it's a step in the right direction. What else might we consider?
