Property Tax To Income Tax - No Thank You!!!

I hope you don't mind if I have a BIG smirk on my face as I find our elected political officials pulling a fast one on us! Every elected official, regardless to elected position, saying they did not know this property tax issue was going to hit must have had their head stuck in the sand.

Now they are floating the idea of switching away impart from property taxes and replace it with a local sales tax along with increasing the local income tax. So the next time they need ten, twenty or hundred million dollars they will only increase your property tax, income tax, and sales tax level a little. No problem, each will only go up a little bit! We won't even notice!

Let us say they hatch this plan of reducing the property tax by 50%. They will replace this with a new income tax and local sales tax so the average person living in the average house will pay the same amount that they had cut from their property tax bill.

Every elected official from your friendly township trustee to the governor know it will not work out that way. The average working person will end up paying more out of their pocket in the way of income tax and the sales tax.

The property tax bill for General Motors in Lafayette Township of Allen County is very near $1,750,000 a year. Now we are going to cut their property tax bill by 50%, to $875,000. A person has to ask where is the other $875,000 going to come from to made up the amount the township and county will loose?

This new taxing method has major drawbacks that should concern townships, school districts, towns and county government. What happens to a slow down in the economy or worse yet a major local employer closes their doors?

International Harvester left Fort Wayne on their own accord and with no concern to the impact it would have on the area. They continued to pay property taxes on property they owned here in Allen County which helped support East Allen County School District, Adams Township, and Allen County. The property tax amount they paid dropped over the years as the value of the buildings declined because of age and lack of upkeep. Had the school district, township and county been counting on funds based on the income tax from workers it would have been gone the day the employees got laid off. The financial shock wave would have hit quickly with teachers and county police officers being laid off.

Increasing the sales tax will only effect John Q. Public for the most part. Sales taxes are charged on the "final user" of a given product and/or service. The consumer is the one that pays the bulk of sales tax.

Right now most income to a local government is by the property tax. Now they want to get into expand it into local income and sales taxes. Instead of getting your hard earned money from one pocket they will have three pockets to pick it from.

Keep in mind..... "Since YOU have a buck in your pocket then your GOVERNMENT has a buck!"