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Posted by David Sherman on Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 11:59:34 :
In Reply to: Re: god bless prop 13 posted by MikeyStone, idaho on Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 21:41:10 :
The trouble with prop 13 is the unintended consequences. If it had reigned in government spending to the same extent that it kept tax collections from increasing, it would have been fine. Instead, Californians want their government to do everything but wipe their noses for them, all without having their property taxes increased. That made the government far more dependent on sales tax, which in turn put the pressure on local governments and zoning commissions to encourage endless sprawl of retail stores like shopping malls and car dealerships rather than factories and farms that pay no sales tax.
Prop 13 was a good idea, but without equally strict controls on the rest of government, and with the citizens continuing to demand more stuff from their government at no cost, it's turned into a big part of California's mess.
I think the Idaho system is actually pretty reasonable for property tax, and definitely much simpler. We have a "homestead exemption" on one's personal residence. That's a fixed amount of money that the assessed valuation is reduced off of the home you live in and whatever land it's on. I don't know what the exact number is this year, but it's somewhere between 50 and 100 thousand. It's the same for everybody no matter what their house is worth. What I like about that is it's easy to figure, and it helps the long-time resident or retiree with the modest house ($100,000 will get you a decent house here) more than it does the newcomer with the $700,000 McMansion, who can honestly afford to pay more tax.
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