Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Why a property tax? 

I appreciated LL's coverage of the floor debate of HF3149, which passed with an 80-52 vote, including five DFL legislators opposed. The bill, the darling of Tax Committee chair Ann Lenczewski, completely upends the basis of a property tax, in a state where we rank about in the middle of property tax collections.

There is debate whether the Revenue Department's testimony, mentioned by the Taxpayers League, that 69% of taxpayers would see a net tax increase under this formula (because they would lose the ability to deduct state property taxes from their state income tax, which for some will cost more than the property tax relief advertised). I do not find anything on Revenue's website with the 69% number, and if someone wants to point me to that analysis I would eagerly read it. It doesn't sound implausible, however. The state income tax has always been set to tax relatively lightly the "perfect MN family", with a mortgage, kids in school or day care, etc. Single renters making more than $35,000, I've always thought, don't get treated so well. As I mentioned when I filled out #1's taxes last month, if you don't have itemized deductions in Minnesota, you tend to pay in at fairly low income levels.

There's also the removal of the circuit breaker on local property tax increases. Part of the property tax refund that HF 3149 repeals is to shield homeowners from sudden increases in property taxes from, say, new levies passed by local government. But you still had to pay some (I make it as 64% of a property tax increase stays with you, the state refunding the remainder. The House Research analysis makes no mention of the income tax recapture.) That 64% is enough to keep some people from voting for your new local project, which makes local governments unhappy. Now, however, if you end up with taxes greater than 2% of your income because of a levy, every last dollar is relieved from your property tax: It is paid by the state out of its income and sales tax revenues. It is an attempt to tear down the barrier to greater government spending -- the Truth in Taxation statement that tells you "vote for this, and your taxes go up." The DFL, along with the LGA booty it distributes under this bill, takes a brake off of local spending.

But the truly most bizarre portion of this thing is the premise Lenczewski is using for the bill, that your property tax depends on your income. Why do we tax property, anyway? Property provides us with a stream of income, much of which is not realized. My recuperation from surgery this week has helped remind me I live in a nice house, in a great neighborhood. Many of the services I receive are non-monetary, and many of them are the result of the city of St. Cloud's public expenditures, such as the paths behind our houses that travel up from Whitney Park through the old airfield that pre-dates the development I live in. The city provides flowers that I am walking by along that path. It provides these services to everyone living in this area, true public goods. Since I am receiving that benefit as the result of the property I own, should I pay for it by a tax on property or a tax on income? We tax property precisely because the flow of its benefits are non-monetary. And the removal of the circuit-breaker says we can increase benefits to all property owners -- who will enjoy those in equal share -- but that we will tax only those who have non-property income, labor income, in excess of what the Minnesota DFL decides is "enough".

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