It’s worse than you think. Huge numbers of people are only focused on payments, have not saved a dime and never will. Their singular financial knowledge is how much more can they afford in payments. Many of these folks make payments on a house but the moment they have enough equity they get another refinance. There are people who don’t even know if within the city or not. So long story short, the property tax incrementalism is not noticed by most because they live in a blizzard of payments.

You say ‘replace’ with. I say end property tax but do not completely replace the revenue. Force the local government growth to reverse. A government job should not be better or more secure than private sector employment. A government vehicle should not be newer and more expensive than private sector etc. The unneeded luxurious growth of local government, however it’s funded, is the core problem.

Why local governments (and local government unions) are bombarding us with propaganda about how good we have it… is to soften us up. They have every intention of turning Boise/Ada into a high tax area so they can get paid as well as their counterparts from high tax areas. When they go to big partytown conventions and compare paychecks they return home determined to extract more from the local taxpayer.

https://taxfoundation.org/

Some very smart people are saying that property taxes are going to go up, up, up; as real property is one of the only assets that can’t flee the criminal governments grasp.

Stop paying your taxes, and find out who really owns your property.

The reason our Overlords will never rely on Income Tax is that we are becoming increasingly impoverished despite the nonsense about a wonderful economy. Poor folks don’t have much to steal, and BIG GOV needs to always get BIGGER and more intrusive. The only people who are flourishing are the rich, and they have a thousand ways to not pay income taxes.

No, BIG GOV is going to keep raising property taxes until we are a nation of renters, trapped in a “cashless” prison, where our every bit-penny and communication is monitored by our jailers, as they watch our every move through our “smart” devices. Once they get the privately owned “assault” rifles we will be absolutely powerless and at the mercy of the sociopaths who have morphed from servant to master.

America, land of the fleeced, home of the slave.

What’s “fair”?

In a libertarian utopia (and I readily admit to having libertarian leanings)…
taxes would be minimal, BUT…

– roads and other infrastructure would be financed by the USERS of the infrastructure, via some form of toll
– if your house never caught on fire, you’d never pay a penny for fire-suppression services
– education would be financed by families and loved ones of those receiving the education
– there would be no “public” lands; if you want to go camping or feed the duckies, you’d pay admission to privately-owned land (or maybe some altruistic owner would open his private land to the commoners)
… etc.

In reality, we’ve decided that society-at-large benefits from having firefighters, public lands, roads, public transportation, free or low-cost primary schools, etc., and we are willing to subsidize it. (“We” being the majority. If you don’t like it, all you need to do is convince a majority to see things your way. Not always easy.)

A sales tax hardly seems any more fair or unfair than a property tax. It could be argued that a sales tax hurts the poor the most, because a larger percentage of their revenue is used to buy the necessities of life.

I’ve given up on thinking I’m always being treated fairly. Life is unfair, and then you die.

(I do know this – there is blatant and inherent unfairness in having your property tax fluctuate wildly, due to this year’s “on-paper” property valuation. What’s fair about raising property taxes by 30% from one year to the next, solely because IF I sold this year, I could get more than IF I sold last year?)

“Bought” our place 30+ years ago. Paid it off 15 years ago. Now, on fixed income, spending on property taxes what we spent then on mortgage payments.

Think of what extra benefits over the past 5 years you have received from the property tax increases, good luck. True math and economics would suggest the increase in population and businesses would give the revenues to balance the needs. However, the special interest[s] that get their needs, usually require the demands for MORE MONEY.
If the people and politicians were completely honest about property taxes, then let’s be HONEST. the exemptions such as religious exemptions. Living in four other states, this particular issue is the one avoided like the plague. the hundreds of millions in absent revenues from religious organizations is phenomenal, the thousands of acres of land and buildings that are under the status of religious exemptions is real.the original intent of that specific exemption is for the house of worship, not investments.
Look at the state run lottery system, but before you dive deep into it, REMEMBER, it’s for the kids, and the age to play is 18, not 21. Please do t tell me it isn’t gambling, I lived in Vegas for 22 years, and the objective is TO WIN. The state never disclosed the cost to run the lottery system, but they sure do their damned best to promote it.

With the mention of the tax exemption for churches, I immediately thought of Joel Osteen and his cheesy, gold-plated grin, gelled hair and private jet. Nice work if you can get it.

EDITOR NOTE–The worst (best?) example is the hospitals. They PROFIT in the tens of millions annually.

I live near a house used to provide care to disabled and recovering etc. Very steep fee per room I notice. I also live near several undeclared halfway homes with same story but less professional supervision. I noticed most of these homes are paying the minimum property tax as if a private home occupied by the owner. Some of these homes are pulling in thousands a month in rent and client service fees.

So my question is, what tax should be paid? What law is being violated?

EDITOR NOTE–Good question. We will need an address or two in order to get a definitive answer from the Ada County Assessor. You can send it here (I will not post the address) or give it via the CONTACT button.

We ought to consider more effective tax solutions to limiting the size and growth of government. Here are some key points to more effectively rein in property tax increases:

Put forth a Proposition by way of ballot for all electors to consider the following. The County – indeed the State – cannot increase any residential property tax any year by more than 5%, except by special election of 2/3 of the voters; regardless of any assessed value. If that means lower mil levy rates upon which taxes are assessed, so be it. A single adjustment increase can be made upon sale on residential property, if owned by the same owner consecutively for at least 15 years. Such adjustment cannot exceed a 50% increase over the last year’s taxable assessment prior to the sale of property.

No doubt in a boom economy with large speculative interests at play, there will need to occur mandatory resets of mil levy rates. Yet, in a down economy when taxes must be raised in spite of economic conditions, there is an increase allowed up to 5%, and there is special election assignments to place such petition on the ballot.

We have become far too trusting of the empty idea that somehow government grows so that we can all benefit. That’s a false narrative proven as such by any casual observation. In Idaho, we are one of only 5 or 6 States that have such high gas tax. Yet, our roads suffer continuously. We are paying very high bond rates for schools, yet our children are getting only at best a tepid “average” passing grade in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). And our bridges are literally falling down. Our sewers cannot handle the demands. The examples seem almost endless.

We need to take care of ourselves by being more responsible for the costs of growth in the Valley. Wherever there is new development, be that commercial, manufacturing, residential or multi-family, impact fees must pay for the attending costs to support expanded infrastructure of police, fire, water, sewer and traffic. Yet, we continually refuse in Ada County and Idaho Legislature to seriously consider impact fees. The retirees, the fixed income and the poor all are hurt by someone else’s greed and demands for more. The government is US. We need to step up and compel responsible funding from those responsible for costs and services.

I am 79 years old. I purchased a modest home in NE Boise thirty years ago. It will be paid off in two years.

At that time my mortgage payments will disappear. However, I will still pay $400 per month in property taxes, $100 more than my total mortgage payments when I bought the house.

Bottom line: I am being priced out of my home by having to pay for bloated City and County Government, Ball parks, an anachronistic library, a desire called streetcar and developmental subsidies.

The “increased value of my home” is meaningless. If I have to sell out, where do I move? Maybe I can sleep in the new library!

For me it’s the unrestrained printing of money. How does money get created? There is only ONE way. It is LOANED into existence. Only banks have the power to print money, cash or virtual. When a bank makes a loan, it creates an account or places $$ into a current account. Principal is that amount. Interest is never created, but must be paid from existing principal. This creates a never ending cycle of absent money, except…that every bank is allowed to loan 10X for every dollar it has on deposit. This is called fractional reserve banking. This is also very inflationary. It signals to the market that there’s more money around and so you can charge more and more for a product or service. Printing in this nation is astronomical. This is why housing, health care, education, cars and anything else that most people BORROW for has ridiculous prices. This ensures a deficit of ability to ever pay anything off in full.

The shysters all know this. They endorse it. As long as lemmings continue to be “credit worthy” then it keeps going on and on. Taxes live and thrive and expand because more and more money exists to be taxed.

People wounder why there are billionaires. Easy, because there are billions and trillions of dollars in existence. If the money supply were never allowed to expand beyond a set amount (like a gold std), then markets would have to price according to the medium that makes it work. Pennies would never be stepped over, they would be picked up and rarely dropped.

I have two jobs. One is cleaning up a shopping mall here in Boise. I pick up tons of coins from pennies to quarters. Back in 1968, those coins would buy me a whole bunch of things at any store, with change coming back.

We need SOUND money and limited taxes for services we NEED.

Sheldon failed to mention property taxes taken by force are not spent in my neighborhood. In fact they are benefiting areas I never go to. Used to lobby for F-35 for example. The terrible school system is probably the largest waste. Schools are only in session half a year now with all the special school holidays, so schools not even a useful babysitting service anymore. Kids are as stupid and helpless as never before. Teachers still underpaid. In short Sheldon there is no accountability for the money taken by force. I have no control over how where when it is spent.

It will get worse and worse until we are indistinguishable from other high tax low service states/cities where government employees complain about their miserable overpaid careers of incompetence. This is the stated goal of Bieter and the new girls running the county. Fools can’t even get the right picture on a driver’s licenses after over a year of trying. Can’t get the ice off the roads before noon. Hundreds of examples of not doing what they take the money to do. Then the go on TV and explain how taking even more money will get it right next year.

If 50% of every single government agency, except perhaps police and emergency services, if 50% were fired today and the money given back to the taxpayer. We would be far better off within a few years after absorbing them into the private sector. The growth of government in my lifetime has by far outpaced the need, and by far outpaced the growth of population, and by far outpaced the growth of GDP. It is government growth for the government’s sake, taxpayer be damned. Media is so dependent on government for advertising income they don’t dare point out the truth of how government growth is crushing the life out of the ordinary taxpayer. And Sheldon, you are clueless about how the tax increases are crushing older retired folks trying to remain in their homes. Clueless!

Stick it where sun don’t shine taxboy!

https://taxfoundation.org/

Gee, Bullcrap, I didn’t think you would get THAT hateful. I forgot to add an eighth solution: run for office yourself, get elected, and change things.