Property Taxes Are Wrong (gas prices, military, politicians, bias)
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Like I said, most people will never reach the deductible in a given year. As for those who do, they should write their congressmen about moving to a single-payer universal health care system. For people paying their full deductible annually, they could use a little more socialism / subsidy.
Exactly. Admittedly I glossed over Driller1's post, forgetting their personal business. I went off the assumption that the average Joe purchases 2,500 gallons of fuel per year which is certainly not the norm.
Yep. I'm all for adding a national sales tax. I think sales taxes are okay, but they benefit large cities a heck of a lot more than everywhere else.
I like sales tax for the simple fact that food / clothing can and should be exempted. Keep trying to soak the poor, Republicans.
Income taxes are a necessity for the simple fact that a sales tax only structure encourages one to save all their money.. which can dry up short-term revenue.
Anyone ever notice that GOP tax cuts always seem to target income tax at the highest levels?
This is a diesel eating machine.....just like my water trucks...service truck, excavator and back hoe.
Our issue up here is rural areas. We have counties with populations of under 2k a private company isnt going to cover that sparsely populated area as costs for services are higher than income received. In larger towns with more compact residential areas private functions can work fine as more people can use the service for the same costs....vs in rural areas or farm land regions with sparsely populated areas. Again, state could supplement the companies funds to make them service that rural area. But the fear of losing property taxes up here for many was losing local control of how to spend it....i.e. give more money to the state and the state who doesnt know the local concerns will determine how to spend it.
If all you were talking about is large metro areas then privatize services could function, but rural areas cannot be ignored and either there is a subsidy needed to pay a company to service these areas or they will not do it. Right now you can get DSL internet in rural areas but not cable internet. DSL via satellite like Dish/Century Link/Direct TV, etc can be installed easily enough and doesnt require man power to run it unlike having weekly trash service or regular snow plow/road maintenance.
Very little of property taxes goes for public service, the majority go for schools. Basically the government takes away a big part of your liberty and your property ownership in order to force your children into public schools where they are indoctrinated with the propaganda that the Federal Government mandates.
The solution to urban vs. rural areas for services is easy. You regulate utilities like they used to do before the government was bought and paid off. They are given the mandate to serve all the areas within their territory at an equal rate. The urban customers pay a little more and profits are regulated by government to prevent over charging.
Yes sewer and water usage is paid by the customer....but infrastructure costs are often very large and cannot be covered by usage payments. Repair bills are often shared between local and state agencies.
I don't agree that they cannot be covered by usage payments. Take for instance the current gas tax, it has not increased since 1993. In 1993 the federal gas tax was 18.4 cents per gallon, state gas taxes raised the total tax on gasoline to 25-30 cents per gallon. That was back when gasoline cost about $1 at the pump. That means the gas tax in 1993 was the equivalent of a 25-30% tax on gasoline. When gasoline rose to $4 a gallon, the ~25-30 cent gas tax meant that the tax on gasoline was actually lower than the sales tax rate in most states(6.25%).
Furthermore, if the gas tax followed inflation it should be about 27 cents at the federal level, and a total of 36 to 44 cents at the pump.
The point is, roads should be paid for by usage fees. There would effectively be no point in even having the roads if there weren't cars driving on them. This idea that people who don't even own cars, or who rarely drive, have to pay for those who drive cars constantly, is ridiculous.
I have even heard that the reason why we can't raise gas taxes is that it is somehow pointless. The argument is that, if we raised gas taxes that the truckers would simply raise the prices on stuff they shipped, and so we would all end up paying the tax anyway. Ignoring the fact that the tax still has to be paid for. Why does it make more sense to transfer the cost of roads from the trucks and cars that are actually driving on the roads, to potentially the people who don't even own a car?
I'll tell you why, because people are idiots and special interests control governments.
The entire question of taxes is based on what benefits the people vs. what benefits the banks and the corporations.
The current system is designed to encourage people to spend 110% of their income and to stay over their heads in debt.
This system ensures the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It also insures that corporations keep control of government.
A tax change which penalized purchasing would mean the people would put more money in savings instead of spending it on crap they do not need. Building savings gives people more financial strength and reduces their need for financing which cuts into the bankers pockets.
The majority of money that most people will make in their lifetime will be in the pockets of bankers and corporate executives by the time they die. The tax system is designed to keep that status quo going.
I don't agree that they cannot be covered by usage payments. Take for instance the current gas tax, it has not increased since 1993. In 1993 the federal gas tax was 18.4 cents per gallon, state gas taxes raised the total tax on gasoline to 25-30 cents per gallon. That was back when gasoline cost about $1 at the pump. That means the gas tax in 1993 was the equivalent of a 25-30% tax on gasoline. When gasoline rose to $4 a gallon, the ~25-30 cent gas tax meant that the tax on gasoline was actually lower than the sales tax rate in most states(6.25%).
Furthermore, if the gas tax followed inflation it should be about 27 cents at the federal level, and a total of 36 to 44 cents at the pump.
The point is, roads should be paid for by usage fees. There would effectively be no point in even having the roads if there weren't cars driving on them. This idea that people who don't even own cars, or who rarely drive, have to pay for those who drive cars constantly, is ridiculous.
I have even heard that the reason why we can't raise gas taxes is that it is somehow pointless. The argument is that, if we raised gas taxes that the truckers would simply raise the prices on stuff they shipped, and so we would all end up paying the tax anyway. Ignoring the fact that the tax still has to be paid for. Why does it make more sense to transfer the cost of roads from the trucks and cars that are actually driving on the roads, to potentially the people who don't even own a car?
I'll tell you why, because people are idiots and special interests control governments.
Even if they are renting, the owner pays property tax which is added to the rent.
You have to remember that property taxes do two things. They keep land and home values in check and insure that the property is not going to be unused or vacant. If you are going to eliminate property taxes it should only apply to a primary residence and perhaps some caps on the value/acreage. Not sure what you do with residential rentals because that would unfairly burden people renting however driving rents up may not be a bad thing if buying becomes preferable over renting and without the burden of property taxes home ownership starts looking pretty good. That's like money in the bank.
OK, the federal diesel tax is 24.4 cents per gallon and also hasn't changed since 1993. I remember reading somewhere that a fully loaded semi and trailer does as much damage to the road as 40,000 passenger cars. It has been proven time and again the neither the gasoline tax nor the diesel tax is sufficient to pay for the cost of the roads.
My point was, the man is arguing that "usage fees" can never be sufficient to pay for road projects and road repairs. I disagree, if the usage fees simply kept pace with inflation, they would have been sufficient. But instead of raising fuel taxes to cover the increased cost of road repair caused by inflation, the revenue for roads now increasingly comes from other taxes(which includes property taxes and income taxes).
The question is, why haven't gas taxes kept pace with road cost inflation? Why does it make more sense to offload the cost of roads from usages fees to personal income taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes?
Because people are stupid, that's why. There is really no other explanation.
OK, the federal diesel tax is 24.4 cents per gallon and also hasn't changed since 1993. I remember reading somewhere that a fully loaded semi and trailer does as much damage to the road as 40,000 passenger cars. It has been proven time and again the neither the gasoline tax nor the diesel tax is sufficient to pay for the cost of the roads.
My point was, the man is arguing that "usage fees" can never be sufficient to pay for road projects and road repairs. I disagree, if the usage fees simply kept pace with inflation, they would have been sufficient. But instead of raising fuel taxes to cover the increased cost of road repair caused by inflation, the revenue for roads now increasingly comes from other taxes(which includes property taxes and income taxes).
The question is, why haven't gas taxes kept pace with road cost inflation? Why does it make more sense to offload the cost of roads from usages fees to personal income taxes, sales taxes, and property taxes?
Because people are stupid, that's why. There is really no other explanation.
I am not sure about your figures however, you are right about big trucks doing more damage.
Right now in Michigan the frost is coming out of the ground....we have road restrictions.
We can only drive the big trucks on class A roads.
And part of the federal gas tax goes to deficit reduction (1990 Budget bill which raised the gas tax). All of the Clinton increase in 1993 went to deficit reduction until 1997.
One of the problems is that the various states have "borrowed" from the various highway trust funds when they were running surpluses to balance or enhance the General Funds and now, when highway funds are needed, the money isn't in the general fund for repayment.
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