State Chapters > Texas
What's the plan, fellow Texans?
Just_Victor:
--- Quote from: Bigun on May 17, 2016, 12:55:46 pm ---We can! All we need to do is expand the base of the sales tax to include services and we can lower the overall sales tax rate and eliminate property taxes entirely.
--- End quote ---
The problem is going to be the effect on the real estate economy. The driving force behind getting undeveloped land on the market is the property tax. When land owners get sick of paying the taxes on unused land they unload it. With no tax, most people probably wouldn't sell land because one can afford to just keep it and do nothing with it. So the supply of land for sale dries up, and prices go through the roof. Maybe if the state distinguished between residential and commercial/agricultural/industrial/undeveloped land for tax purposes.
I don't know. The entire concept of property taxes means that the government owns all property and you are just renting it from them. And I just really loath that.
M1078:
Property taxes don't necessarily need eliminated but they certainly need reformed. When I lived in WA I had 10 acres and a house and paid about 1/5th what I'm paying in TX for half the property (and WA doesn't have state income tax either). The only thing saving me from having to sell and get something smaller is a disability lock on how much it can go up. Luckily I live in the county and not in town or I'd be taxed out of my home.
ShadowAce:
If we could get illegal immigration under control, that would employ more Texans, which would allow us to work on taxes and education.
Of course, we'd also have to work on welfare benefits to encourage Texans to actually go back to work.
M1078:
--- Quote from: ShadowAce on May 17, 2016, 01:34:35 pm ---If we could get illegal immigration under control, that would employ more Texans, which would allow us to work on taxes and education.
Of course, we'd also have to work on welfare benefits to encourage Texans to actually go back to work.
--- End quote ---
I know an awful lot of folks in the oil and gas industry that would love to go back to work.
sinkspur:
--- Quote from: Bigun on May 17, 2016, 12:55:46 pm ---We can! All we need to do is expand the base of the sales tax to include services and we can lower the overall sales tax rate and eliminate property taxes entirely.
--- End quote ---
That won't be near enough to fund state services. Plus, pieces of the sales tax go to local counties and communities. And, a large number of services are assessed sales taxes already.
We could lower property taxes but, as someone else pointed out, property taxes keep the value of land low by forcing people to sell land due to the taxes. Housing prices would rocket with no or even low property taxes.
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