Property tax sessions should focus on spending
If the Legislature actually gets serious about discussing property taxes in a special summer session, it will likely grapple with these two questions: Should property taxes be reduced by raising income taxes? And, if so, should the bulk of the additional income tax burden be placed on the rich?
To me, there should be no discussion about redistributing the tax burden until the state has grappled with the root problem - excessive spending, waste, inefficiency and corruption at all levels of government. If that's done right, all taxpayers will benefit, not just those who stand to benefit from a wealth redistribution scheme.
But for those intent on putting the tax fairness issue front and center, it will boil down to a simple philosophical question. What constitutes a fair share for the wealthy? The SMART tax bill being promoted by Assemblyman Louis Manzo, D-Hudson, which would relieve the property tax burden by raising income taxes on couples earning more than $300,000 a year - roughly the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers - is predicated on the belief that the rich don't pay their fair share. Manzo points to figures that show how lower-income households pay a proportionately greater share of their income in major taxes than do the highest-income households. He's right. Yet 1 percent of the state's taxpayers account for 42 percent of the revenue generated by income taxes. Which is the more important statistic? That will be at the core of the debate.
I would like to see the discussions this summer confined to the most pressing issue: What can be done to reduce the cost of government services, including the schools, so ALL taxpayers can afford to live in this state?
To me, there should be no discussion about redistributing the tax burden until the state has grappled with the root problem - excessive spending, waste, inefficiency and corruption at all levels of government. If that's done right, all taxpayers will benefit, not just those who stand to benefit from a wealth redistribution scheme.
But for those intent on putting the tax fairness issue front and center, it will boil down to a simple philosophical question. What constitutes a fair share for the wealthy? The SMART tax bill being promoted by Assemblyman Louis Manzo, D-Hudson, which would relieve the property tax burden by raising income taxes on couples earning more than $300,000 a year - roughly the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers - is predicated on the belief that the rich don't pay their fair share. Manzo points to figures that show how lower-income households pay a proportionately greater share of their income in major taxes than do the highest-income households. He's right. Yet 1 percent of the state's taxpayers account for 42 percent of the revenue generated by income taxes. Which is the more important statistic? That will be at the core of the debate.
I would like to see the discussions this summer confined to the most pressing issue: What can be done to reduce the cost of government services, including the schools, so ALL taxpayers can afford to live in this state?
posted by Randy Bergmann at 11:27 AM
1 Comments:
It amazes me that, in a land where we value hard work and its rewards, there seems to be so much resentment of "the rich." Granted, some of "the rich" have inherited money, and that's one thing. But many of "the rich" work very hard and keep paying more and more taxes. You'll never hear a politician declare that "the rich" have been taxed heavily lately, and perhaps they need a tax cut too.
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