Rising property tax bills are stinging US homeowners — but these 8 states are doing something about it

I would like to see property taxes be declared Unconstitutional as there is no real property ownership, it is all just rental from the government.

Secondly that won't happen, so there needs to be a CA Prop 13 for everyone.

I would like to see property taxes be declared Unconstitutional as there is no real property ownership

Me too. For school taxes, eliminate public schools and you eliminate school taxes. Instead, you get private choice and a voucher which will bring the cost down.

You can pay off your mortgage, but you can never stop paying the real owner of your property.

YOU CAN PAY OFF YOUR MORTGAGE BUT NEVER PAY OFF THE REAL OWNER!

Property taxes have been in place since before Moses. So don't expect them to go away anytime soon.

“”This rate is determined by the funding needs of these jurisdictions””

NEEDS is one thing - WANT is more like it! Those in charge know no limits/bounds!

Not a popular suggestion here but an income tax is better than a property tax

And that voucher money comes from where? You just eliminated how schooling is currently paid for. How does your plan pay for vouchers?

As an intermediate step, how about strengthening homstead provisions. How much land would be required to farm/pasture enough sustenance to maintain a family of 6? Let’s say 2 acres.

Then if the primary residence and 2 acres is exempt from property tax.

Not the best but helps protect the most families but doesn’t allow today’s robber barons from using land as a tax shelter.

Prop 13
California’s Proposition 13 is a property tax limitation initiative that was passed by voters in 1978. It limits property tax increases and provides protection for property owners from large fluctuations in property taxes.

Tax rate
The general levy tax is limited to 1% of the assessed value of the property.

Assessment
Properties are assessed at their fair market value at the time of sale.

Reassessment
Property assessments can only increase by a maximum of 2% per year, unless there is a change in ownership, new construction, or other specific circumstances.

Taxation
In the year a property is purchased, it is taxed at its purchase price.

Effect on homeowners
Homeowners who stay in their homes benefit from lower taxes if property values increase by more than 2% per year.

Effect on rental market
Proposition 13 applies to landlords and reduces the turnover of owner-occupied homes.

If it wasn’t for Prop 13 (California) I would be taxed out of my own home:

“Proposition 13 is an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process, to cap property taxes to 1% of the assessed value, restricting annual increases of assessed value to an inflation factor not to exceed 2% per year, limit property reassessments to when the property changes ownership, and to require a 2/3 majority for tax increases in the state legislature.”

Of course, Dem pols in the state house are doing everything they can to overturn, eliminate - and/or circumvent - Prop 13.

Howard Jarvis is one of my heroes. I doubt the likes of Prop 13 would pass today, it wouldn’t even make it onto the ballot.

How does your plan pay for vouchers?

It would be a formula. A portion would be from Fed/state as it is today but in the form of a tax credit. Part would be from users, yes people would contribute in some fashion, and some would be from current taxes that would be reclaimed from other programs that are wasting tax dollars, such as the billions spent on illegals, foreign aid, welfare waste. Eliminating the K-12 bureaucracy would drive costs down as would cutting staffing as we can now scale teachers to video teaching eliminating the need for about half the teaching workforce which is about 85% of the budget.

...and the eight states are?

If you want to control propperty taxes correctly, then control local and county government spending.

Also you could pass state laws that limit government workers salaries and benefits to no more than the median levels recieved by the taxpayers who pay for the government workers.

Why should any government workers reap better incomes and benefits that the median levels their constituents get? They shouldn’t.

Property taxes don’t increase because home and real estate values have risen. Local governments could easily lower the millage rates to keep their net revenue flat, no matter how high the property values.

Property tax increases when local governments SPEND MORE. Rising property values hide their spending increases. Costs have gone up for government operations just like everything else, but governments have endless things they want rather than truly need. Right now, local governments across the country are saddled with costs for schooling, health care, police, courts, jails, housing, etc. for the migrants that Biden welcomed into the US. People who have paid no taxes, and likely never will.

Prop 13-like laws are not easy or quick to enact. People need to put the heat on their County and City officials to keep spending down.

“I would like to see property taxes be declared Unconstitutional”

Me too, along with income and sales taxes - just don’t cut the goodies that I get from government.

Click bait. What are the 8 states?

Sales taxes. One has more control. They can buy less or a cheaper product. The wealthy pay more for consuming more. No tax on veggies. If the tax rate could just be voted on every year on Nov. 1. It would provide an incentive to cut government.

Alabama, Kansas and Wyoming have new laws.
Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Missouri and Georgia have certified ballot measures on which voters will decide this year.