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12/15/2006
Property Tax Pabulum
It’s a bunch of hooey – the Doyle property tax announcement that was reported all over the state the other day. As the Journal Sentinel reported the other day, the property tax bill on the “mythical median-valued home” will rise $7, or about 0.3%.
Well it just ain’t so. Governor Doyle, in his release says “This shows that the property tax limits I put into place have helped to hold down property taxes and ease the burden on middle-class families.” Just a bunch of hooey.
Total levies around the state are estimated to have increased about 3 or 4% - not even close to the 0.3% measured via the typical (whatever that is) median-value home owner. So why is the average homeowner supposedly seeing such a small increase? A number of things… mostly taking from Pete to pay Paul.
TINSTAAFL – something I guess I first learned at my father’s knee, but later from Peter Drucker, the famed management guru. Dr. Drucker was more fond of saying “always look a gift horse in the mouth,” but would also repeat the oft-used “There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch” – TINSTAAFL.
It surely is true with taxes. If spending keeps going up and up and up, you’ve got to fund it somehow. This pocket, that pocket, shirt pocket, hat pocket.
So… just a couple of points. First of all, the lottery credit increased this year by more than $15 on everyone’s tax bill. So that alone lowered tax bills from last year.
Secondly, the economy is good (about which I’m not complaining)! The value of “new construction” in the state increased significantly for 2006. So because new properties were paying their share of taxes (and non-residential properties were a large portion of that increase), existing home owners paid proportionately less for an overall rising total.
Then there’s the school levy tax credit. In his release, Governor Doyle also said, [In holding down property taxes] “we did it the right way – protecting our schools and vital local services from the devastating cuts that the Republican plan would have imposed.” Yes, the governor increased state funding for schools so the local property tax burden was less. And on top of that, the budget plays this little trick with the school levy tax credit.
The credit lowers our tax bills – and is about 20% higher this year than last. Now here’s the trick. The credit (dollars paid by the state to school districts) shows up as a reduction to the tax bills we’re all receiving this month. But get this – the state doesn’t pay the schools that money until after July 1, in other words, the state is lowering our tax bills with money from a budget that’s not even written yet. Heaven knows which pocket that will come from….
Some of this is convoluted stuff – I know - and it’s a bunch of numbers to have to figure out. But it’s the darn point of the whole thing – it’s a chest-banging press release that’s built on smoke and mirrors. And it’s just darned irritating.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for lower property taxes. But please don’t do it with smoke and mirrors and tell me we’re in good budget shape as a state. We’re not. We’re absolutely not. It’s just a bunch of hooey.
COMMENTS
Jo, Thanks for pointing out the smoke and mirrors of property tax relief. By pointing it out and explaining your point I think people will want to know more. It is disconcerting to me that this continues to go on and the people we are asking to do things for us with integrity let us down. Is this just again and example of the human condition or are we to expect more? I wonder sometimes. Thanks, Perry
Perry Brown (Fri Dec 15 11:26:03 2006)
Jo, p..l..e..a..s..e new buildings require new services and that costs money, you can't expect a community to grow streets, garbage collection, police, fire, parks, schools.... and not require more money to do these things..... Doyle is exactly right taxes went up less than one percent
Editor's note: I usually will not post comments that don't attach a name. Those of you who like to comment anonymously, please include your name and ask me not to post it. I will abide by your request. I'm posting this comment because it questions my position, which I don't mind. Yes, I agree, when a community is growing, total tax levies may need to increase, though they should not increase as fast as the growth - which means taxes for existing landowners should decrease due to growth. Jo Egelhoff
(Fri Dec 15 08:42:47 2006)
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