Letter to the editor: It’s time to abolish property taxes in the state

Like many others I received my annual property tax bill from the county confiscator and I’m hot boiling mad. Our legislators talk about how we need to fix the property tax system, having tried some 135 times to fix the system resulting in nothing more than enabling local subdivisions to have unlimited spending power.

We have absolutely nothing to show for the $752 million in property tax relief sent out from our Legislature as my taxes are higher now than before. Property tax rape.

A group of special interests called Keep It Local lied through its teeth, stating if property taxes were abolished how we would lose local control. What local control? They couldn’t have cared less. The only local control we have is either pay the tax or lose our property. What scared the KIL group to death was that Measure 2, if passed, specified that the Legislature had to first fund programs formerly funded by property tax before any special interests could receive funding. And they said the language was vague? There is no intention of controlling state spending. Like our federal government, they want more and bigger government.

These same special interests will be supporting legislation restricting and crippling our right of initiative and referral. They hate government for the people by the people.

What other tax program penalizes property owners for improving their property?

The truth is those who rule over us don’t want to or can’t fix the current property tax system. Property tax is unfair, unjust, unworkable and above all a license to steal. It’s a system that is not based on one’s ability to pay, but rather one that enables the powers that be to keep sucking out of a bottomless checkbook after it continues to run dry.

Are you now ready to abolish property tax?

Tags: opinion, letters, taxes