[Vision2020] Property tax cut?
J Ford
privatejf32 at hotmail.com
Sun Jul 23 17:22:36 PDT 2006
Care to address the question I asked? Or ask Mayor Cheney to, since its her
puppy? The open letter to Mayor Cheney is STILL unanswered as well.
Mayor?.....................
J :]
>From: "John Dickinson" <johnd at moscow.com>
>To: "'J Ford'" <privatejf32 at hotmail.com>,<vision2020 at moscow.com>
>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Property tax cut?
>Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 16:34:05 -0700
>
>Hi-
>
>Property taxes fund schools, cities, and a few other places. About 2/3 goes
>to schools and about 1/3 goes to the cities. The "property tax reflief"
>being discussed is talking about the school portion and will likely leave
>the cities portion untouched.
>
>Reading the piece from Elliot Werk points out why most people distrust
>their
>government. I am always disappointed when politicians give a public
>description of their actions that hide the real self-serving motives. One
>of
>the reasons I ran for city council a couple of years ago was to show people
>that it was possible to run for an office, express a set of beliefs during
>a
>campaign, and act on those beliefs in an ethical way throughout a term of
>office. Our state and our country would be so much better served if a
>majority of politicians acted in this manner.
>
>Enjoy the summer heat.
>John
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
>On Behalf Of J Ford
>Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 12:08 PM
>To: vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Property tax cut?
>
>
>
>How does this affect what Mayor Cheney wants to do? Does this mean her 3%
>
>tax hike is out the window followed closely by her 9 new employees?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>J :]
>
>
>
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>
>
>
>
> >From: Ralph Nielsen <nielsen at uidaho.edu>
>
> >To: Vision2020 at moscow.com
>
> >Subject: [Vision2020] Property tax cut?
>
> >Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 08:50:26 -0700
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >ELLIOT WERK
>
> >
>
> >IDAHO STATE SENATE
>
> >Legislative News
>
> >The Special Interest Session
>
> >July 16,
>
> >2006
>
> > Volume 1, Number 6
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >In This Issue
>
> >7 The Special Interest Session Whats in it For You?
>
> >
>
> >7 Town Hall Meeting on the Property Tax Plans July 24th, 6:30 PM
>
> >at Boise Public Library
>
> >
>
> >Handy Web Links
>
> >My Home Page
>
> >Find out what is happening, what Ive been up to, or fill out my
>
> >latest survey
>
> >Legislative Web Page
>
> >Excellent place to read bills, track legislation, contact
>
> >legislators, and more
>
> >Secretary of State Elections Page
>
> >Look at campaign sunshine reports, lobbyist registration, and more
>
> >Absentee Ballot Request
>
> >Vote by mail, its quick, easy, and convenient
>
> >Contact Me
>
> >http://www.elliotwerk.org
>
> >mailto:elliotwerk at mindspring.com
>
> >Phone: 658-0388
>
> >Legislative Messages: 332-1000
>
> >Snail Mail:
>
> >6810 Randolph Dr., Boise, ID 83709
>
> >The Special Interest Session Whats in it For You?
>
> >By now many of you have heard talk of a special session of the
>
> >legislature to provide a property tax cut. The Governor has asked
>
> >legislators to hold Friday, August 25, 2006 open in case a special
>
> >session is called.
>
> >
>
> >Homeowners are rightfully asking for something to be done about
>
> >rapidly escalating property taxes. So, if a special session of the
>
> >legislature is called - whats in it for you the homeowner?
>
> >
>
> >To answer that question lets take a look at the tax cut proposal
>
> >that the Governor has laid out (both in his inaugural speech and many
>
> >times since). Then we can talk a bit about how the proposal affects
>
> >homeowners, and then about how the special session will work. Lastly
>
> >I will lay out the recently announced Democratic plan that provides
>
> >100% of the property tax relief to homeowners without raising the
>
> >sales tax.
>
> >
>
> >The Governors Proposal - The proposal removes the school property
>
> >tax levy (known as the M&O - $3 per $1,000 of property value) from
>
> >all types of properties and shifts that cost (about $250 million) to
>
> >the sales tax. This would result in a reduction of about 20% in
>
> >property taxes for all classes of properties.
>
> >
>
> >That sounds pretty good. Until you look at the details.
>
> >
>
> >This proposal was rejected three times by the Senate in the last
>
> >legislative session because it penalizes the people that are asking
>
> >for the tax cut the homeowners - while substantially weakening
>
> >education funding. There is no tax relief for homeowners in this
>
> >plan, just the mirage of relief.
>
> >
>
> >Let me explain.
>
> >
>
> >How the Proposal Affects Homeowners - Property taxes are calculated
>
> >differently for residential property compared to all other types of
>
> >property. While residential property taxes are based on full market
>
> >value (what we can sell our house for on the market) other types of
>
> >property (commercial, industrial, utility, and agricultural) are
>
> >assessed based on income potential. This has led to a dramatic
>
> >difference in property value increases over the last five years
>
> >(really forever).
>
> >
>
> >For instance, while agricultural land and utility property taxes have
>
> >actually dropped almost 10% in the last five years, residential
>
> >property taxes have increased by almost 92%.
>
> >
>
> >So back to the Governors plan according to Idaho Tax Commission
>
> >figures - removing the M&O from all classes of property gives 60% or
>
> >about $150 million of the tax cut to properties other than owner
>
> >occupied homes (like your home that qualifies for the homeowner
>
> >exemption). That leaves 40% of the cut for you and me.
>
> >
>
> >So lets recap, properties that have remained relatively flat or even
>
> >seen a decrease in their property taxes in the last five years will
>
> >get 60% of the tax cut while properties that have seen a 92% increase
>
> >in property taxes get 40%. Seems a bitunfair.
>
> >
>
> >And it gets even worse. We, the homeowners, pick up the lions share
>
> >of that $250 million cost since the proposal shifts the school levy
>
> >from property to sales taxes and business is generally exempt from
>
> >paying sales tax (remember all those tax exemptions). If business
>
> >properties are paying part of the school levy today and we shift to a
>
> >tax that they do not pay (and the costs stay the same) then
>
> >homeowners pick up that extra burden. That is how a tax cut becomes a
>
> >tax increase for you the homeowner.
>
> >
>
> >Another recap 60% of the tax cuts go to special interests that have
>
> >seen no substantial property tax increases over the last five years
>
> >and homeowners see an overall increase in our tax burden as we pick
>
> >up the full cost for school funding.
>
> >
>
> >But that is not all. Unfortunately theres more.
>
> >
>
> >If you itemize deductions on your federal income taxes you can deduct
>
> >your property taxes from your income. So in reality you pay your
>
> >property taxes with 75 or 80 cent dollars (depending on your tax
>
> >bracket). So not only will homeowners pay for a tax cut for special
>
> >interests, but you also lose the deductibility of that portion of
>
> >your tax burden!
>
> >
>
> >That is why the Senate rejected this plan three times during the
>
> >regular session it raises taxes on the people that need the cuts
>
> >the most the homeowners. And it gives a juicy tax cut to property
>
> >classes that have not seen substantial property tax increases!
>
> >
>
> >If you dont believe me you can ask Senator Hal Bunderson chairman
>
> >of the Senate Local Government and Taxation committee (you can
>
> >contact him at 888-7156). After weeks of study using Idaho Tax
>
> >Commission figures he led the charge against this plan in the regular
>
> >session and has spoken out repeatedly against it recently in the
>
> >Idaho Statesman.
>
> >
>
> >That is why I call the contemplated special legislative session a
>
> >Special Interest session. It will provide tax relief only to the
>
> >special interests not the homeowner.
>
> >
>
> >How Will the Special Interest Session Work? As the Governor has
>
> >laid it out, a proposal will be worked out behind closed doors. The
>
> >Governor will line up support for the plan prior to calling the
>
> >Special Interest session - guaranteeing that he has enough votes to
>
> >assure a quick victory. The Special Interest session will be called
>
> >on a Friday (August 25th) where the only proposal considered will be
>
> >his plan. There will be no committee hearings, no public testimony,
>
> >and no other plans considered.
>
> >
>
> >The Democratic Plan Property taxes on owner occupied homes have
>
> >increased an average of 92% in the last five years. You need some
>
> >relief. Our plan provides homeowners with 100% of the relief.
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >The plan is simple everyone that qualifies for the homeowner
>
> >exemption is given an additional exemption from the school M&O levy.
>
> >You get a 20% property tax cut and special interests get nothing. No
>
> >shift, no complications. Just tax cuts where they are needed.
>
> >
>
> >The cost of our plan is $104 million which can be absorbed by our
>
> >ongoing surplus (we currently have a $200 million fund balance of
>
> >that about $100 million is likely ongoing revenue we can use to fund
>
> >property tax relief).
>
> >
>
> >Town Hall Meeting on the Property Tax Plans
>
> >
>
> >The Ada County Democratic legislators will host a Town Hall Meeting
>
> >at 6:30 PM on Monday, July 24th at the Boise Public Library. The
>
> >purpose of the meeting is to have a public review of both property
>
> >tax plans and provide the opportunity for the public to discuss and
>
> >comment on the plans.
>
> >
>
> >We are offering this opportunity to ensure that the public is well
>
> >informed about the property tax plans and the ramifications of each
>
> >plan.
>
> >
>
> >I hope to see you all there. You might want to arrive early since
>
> >space is limited and we expect a large crowd.
>
> >
>
> >In closing I would ask you to contact your legislators to voice your
>
> >opinion about property tax relief. Do you want to pay for a cut for
>
> >the special interests or would you like targeted relief for
>
> >homeowners. You can contact your legislator by name at http://
>
> >www.legislature.idaho.gov/about/contactbyname.cfm or by district at
>
> >http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/about/contactbydistrict.cfm. You can
>
> >also contact the Governor (after all he is leading the charge) at
>
> >either 334-2100 or via email at http://gov.idaho.gov/ourgov/
>
> >contact.html.
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >
>
> >=====================================================
>
> > List services made available by First Step Internet,
>
> > serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>
> > http://www.fsr.net
>
> > mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
>
> >====================================================
>
>
>
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