I guess no one likes property taxes. Mine, in Raleigh, are going to go up because of a parks and recreation bond referendum that passed in November, and I’m not happy about it. But it’s even worse when you’re in a poor part of the state and just barely making ends meet. That’s the situation facing residents of Macon and Jackson Counties.
What I find most interesting about this article is that it just assumes that counties have to keep spending.
This month, Macon County will mail homeowners valuations reflecting a nearly 15 percent countywide property value decline, county tax administrator Richard Lightner said. To bring in similar revenue, county commissioners would need to raise taxes from about 28 cents per $100 of property to 33 cents.
So we have a situation where the economy is in decline and property values are dropping. People are poorer than they were. And the answer from the county is to increase taxes on already hard-pressed people? Really?
I don’t know whether there’s been any discussion in these counties about cutting spending. This article certainly didn’t report any such discussion. Yet, that is the answer. Rather than taking ever more in taxes from citizens, governments should tighten their belts, the same way people living in their communities have had to. Leave money in the hands of those taxpayers so they can spend in their communities, sustain jobs, and provide for their families. Forget raising property taxes; cut spending instead.
