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property taxes are used to pay for services that the local government provides. when property taxes are high, it means that either the local government is provi

property taxes are used to pay for services that the local government provides. when property taxes are high, it means that either the local government is proving more services, the local government is in debt and needs to raise taxes to finance its debt, or the cost of those basic services has risen. At the end of the day your local government needs to spend almost every penny it gets. If they have extra money, they are going to spend it on stupid things like tanks for the police. High property taxes will make housing cheaper, but it wouldn't make housing affordable. Sure that house might only costs 100k but with a 2k per month property tax, no one can afford it.

parineum 4y ago
Property taxes paying for local services keeps poor people poor. I don't understand why people think this is ethical. Property tax is possibly the worst way to fund the government. The only thing it's really good at is imposing a market force. It's largely regressive. In fact it's almost identical to gas tax. All flat taxes are regressive.
- ketchupdebugger 4y ago
  on the contrary, property tax is actually a good way for people to pay for what they voted for. If your town voted to increase the education budget, your property tax directly goes into that. You are not paying for something that your town did not vote for. Property tax can be regressive within a community, but can often be progressive within a county/state. Different towns can have different property tax rates. Rich people would actually prefer a higher property tax to a certain degree to keep the poor out. If the avg property tax is 2k a month, then everyone living there needs to make at least 6 figures.
  - parineum 4y ago
    > on the contrary, property tax is actually a good way for people to pay for what they voted for. It's also a great way for poor neighborhoods to not be able to afford what they need.

parineum 4y ago

Property taxes paying for local services keeps poor people poor. I don't understand why people think this is ethical. Property tax is possibly the worst way to fund the government. The only thing it's really good at is imposing a market force. It's largely regressive. In fact it's almost identical to gas tax. All flat taxes are regressive.

ketchupdebugger 4y ago
on the contrary, property tax is actually a good way for people to pay for what they voted for. If your town voted to increase the education budget, your property tax directly goes into that. You are not paying for something that your town did not vote for. Property tax can be regressive within a community, but can often be progressive within a county/state. Different towns can have different property tax rates. Rich people would actually prefer a higher property tax to a certain degree to keep the poor out. If the avg property tax is 2k a month, then everyone living there needs to make at least 6 figures.
- parineum 4y ago
  > on the contrary, property tax is actually a good way for people to pay for what they voted for. It's also a great way for poor neighborhoods to not be able to afford what they need.