If new home prices are tanking, how are Greensboro and Guilford County not going to get a massive tax hike next year when higher end properties are revalued far lower for taxation?
The question posed is: “If new home prices are tanking, how are Greensboro and Guilford County not going to get a massive tax hike next year when higher end properties are revalued far lower for taxation?”
The question is a forward looking question. It’s a very good question. However, for a moment one should peruse the graph from 2008 to present. Apparently tax has been over-charged given declining values from 2008 to present. Which begs the observation: if property values and applicable property tax were applied in real-time, there would currently be a major short fall in property tax revenue.
If real-time property values and current applicable property tax were applied, revenues would be in a nose dive, would local politicians continue spending at current levels? Stated alternatively, the current property tax revenue stream is pseudo. Local politicos are basing current decisions on a pseudo tax revenue stream.
When revaluation occurs and tax revenue plummets, the politico will frame the reduced tax stream as a “surprise”. They just never knew this day was coming. The “surprise” will certainly be followed by the old game plan of “we will have to lay off police and fire fighters” unless we raise taxes [yawn]. That is, somehow its not the politico’s fault, that being ahead of the curve is an impossibility for the politico, and the answer as always is more taxes as cutting spending is “draconian“ [double yawn].
“There is only one difference between a bad economist and a good one: the bad economist confines himself to the visible effect; the good economist takes into account both the effect that can be seen and those effects that must be foreseen“. - Frédéric Bastiat, French Economist, 1850
2 comments:
Abner:
Massive tax hike next year?
The question posed is: “If new home prices are tanking, how are Greensboro and Guilford County not going to get a massive tax hike next year when higher end properties are revalued far lower for taxation?”
The question is a forward looking question. It’s a very good question. However, for a moment one should peruse the graph from 2008 to present. Apparently tax has been over-charged given declining values from 2008 to present. Which begs the observation: if property values and applicable property tax were applied in real-time, there would currently be a major short fall in property tax revenue.
If real-time property values and current applicable property tax were applied, revenues would be in a nose dive, would local politicians continue spending at current levels? Stated alternatively, the current property tax revenue stream is pseudo. Local politicos are basing current decisions on a pseudo tax revenue stream.
When revaluation occurs and tax revenue plummets, the politico will frame the reduced tax stream as a “surprise”. They just never knew this day was coming. The “surprise” will certainly be followed by the old game plan of “we will have to lay off police and fire fighters” unless we raise taxes [yawn]. That is, somehow its not the politico’s fault, that being ahead of the curve is an impossibility for the politico, and the answer as always is more taxes as cutting spending is “draconian“ [double yawn].
“There is only one difference between a bad economist and a good one: the bad economist confines himself to the visible effect; the good economist takes into account both the effect that can be seen and those effects that must be foreseen“. - Frédéric Bastiat, French Economist, 1850
yes and throwing 3-5 million away per year by not opening up WSL will hurt also.
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