Think you own your property? Do you really? Perhaps you’d better think again.
If you want proof that you’re merely a renter on your “own property,” try not paying your property taxes this year and watch how quickly “your” property is seized by the State.
Anyways, on to the news. It turns out that voters in North Dakota are planning to vote out their property tax. This is huge news, because it would make North Dakota the first state in the Union without a property tax.
The last time that any state has discontinued a major revenue source was 1980, when Alaska did away with its income tax.
The measure does require the state government to make up for property tax revenue lost by local governments, but unfortunately it doesn’t specify how. This level of vagueness can’t be good, and could easily see other taxes being raised (like taxes on the “crime” of smoking and drinking). However, it’s still a good step in the way of progress, in this writer’s opinion.
I’ve long advocated for starving the beast. You want real, radical change in the way government works? Then there has to be, well, radical changes. A little cut here, a small slice there, and everyone wants to pat themselves on the back as though some level of progress were made. One doesn’t have to look very hard to realize the folly of this.
Anyways, what do you guys think of this? Is this a good thing, or will it simply be a shell game, whereby the state seeks to replace the $800MM/year in lost revenue from other sources?
Aaron Graves
Aaron Graves is a veteran and a staunch libertarian, consistently breaking ranks with his Conservative friends on social issues, and with his Liberal friends on economic issues. He is also the guy that wrote the crap that you just read. Sic Semper Tyrannis
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