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Jay Evensen: Why you should appreciate your property tax bill

Of course if you want to save the money up yourself and pay taxes at the end of the year instead of giving your mortgage holder an interest-free loan in your escrow account, feel free to pay them $400-500 for the privilege of saving them the hassle of sending your money in for you.

Also, although this will be a little off topic, I'll say it anyway, along the lines of fees related to your house payment...never ever sign up for your mortgage holder's bi-weekly payment program. They charge you several hundred dollars up front to collect your money every 2 weeks instead of once a month. You end up making one extra house payment a year, which is great. BUT, two months of the year you end up paying an extra half-payment so make sure you know when that happens so the money is there for it. Also the bank holds your money as an interest-free loan, while they earn interest on it. A better idea is to do it yourself for free. Take your monthly mortgage payment amount, divide by 12, and add that to the amount you pay each month, directed to paying down your principal.

Remember the commercial this is your brain (raw egg), this is your brain on drugs (egg frying in skillet)? This propaganda is the author's brain on something but fresh mountain air. People; if Truth in Taxation is so great why has virtually every State in the Union abandoned it? If our Truth in Taxation is so wonderful why do people (like this article writer) have to lie about it? Talk about tax shifting of burdens! What if I told you investment land held for development, falsely claimed as FAA (Green Belt), is being taxed at 15 cents (that's right! 15 pennies!) an acre? On 710 acres the total tax bill is $110! Yet "Shirley", your aged widow grandma is paying at a $850,000 an acre rate. That sound like "Truth in Taxation", or fair and equitable to anyone?! There are so many holes in this artticle and status quo ante propaganda which professional and intelligent research can refute, I can only shake my head in incredulity and amazement. Acquisition Value reassessment and taxation is needed yesterday. Those who oppose it in the legislature need to be replaced this Spring.

As Don Quixote said, there are loopholes. The property tax should be abolished, it is the most unfair tax and nothing should stand between a citizen and his/her property. They can take my money but nothing should even remotely have the ability to threaten my ownership of my property.

The only fair tax is the sales tax. Everyone is treated the same. The cashier does not discriminate. Wealthy people who spend more, pay more. Poor people who spend less, pay less. It is abolutly the only tax that should exist. If we cut out all the govenernment waste it is all that we would need.

$850,000 an acre. What a crock.