(10-16-2022, 07:15 PM)mikesez Wrote:

(10-16-2022, 06:25 PM)NewJagsCity Wrote: Per this property tax issue:  Land should only be taxed when:

You purchase it
You pay a mortgage/loan on which it is the collateral
You sell it

Just like any other asset/investment,  You don't pay tax on your 401k or 403b until it is sold.

Property tax on property owned free and clear is one of the biggest ripoffs ever.  And neither party would advocate its revocation, because its too valuable as a source of government funding.

Just like neither party would advocate for removing the income tax.

Let me explain what property tax can do. Property tax sends a very necessary and very important signal to people.  I know of some very dilapidated homes that are right by expressway exists, surrounded by nice new subdivisions and shopping centers, curbs, gutters, medians, sidewalks, everything. But these homes are falling over, paint peeling, and the yards are full of junk like broken down boats, etc, all facing the road.  Clearly bringing down surrounding property values.  But there's no HOA.  The grass is trimmed so the county has nothing to say.  The one thing that would tell these people it's time to gather their things and go somewhere where fewer people have to see their piles of junk is to let their property tax reflect the actual value of their property now that they have nice amenities around it.  But we don't even do that! Our homestead exemption will make sure their property tax only goes up 3% per year.  So they will eventually get the signal they need, but it will take way too long.

Sorry, but you're wrong again.  Many of these dilapidated homes are not owner-occupied, so an increase in property tax has no direct effect on the residents.  At most, they might see an increase in rent.  Zoning regulations can be utilized to clean up the sites, but the municipality involved needs the political will to enforce such action.
Beyond that, property tax has two components, the value of the land and the value of the improvements.  A dilapidated structure that has little value, therefore contributes little to the taxable assessed value.

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