Introduction In most developed countries, properties tax plays a significant role in the local government. In Canada, Australia, and the USA they are the main source of Municipalities revenue. About a half of municipals revenues in Canada is derived from property taxes . An approximate $ 14 billion was collected in 2007 from the taxes by municipalities in Ontario province; this was an approximate 45% of all the revenue collected by this municipals. Due to the revenue contribution of these taxes, municipality has constantly raised these taxes on per capita basis, from $ 864 dollar in 1988 to $ 1, 035 in 2007 . Nevertheless, it is still argued that this tax contribute to less than 3% of country’s GDP, implying that the taxes some problems that prevent them from being fully utilized . Unpopularity There have been calls from the public to limit the ability of municipalities to reassess and hence raise the property taxes. This has arguably inhibited the ability of local government to utilize these taxes to the maximum. The visibility and volatility nature of this tax has been cited as the main reason for the unpopularity of this tax among taxpayers . Unpopularity is one of the major problems of this tax system. Property tax is considered to be a visible tax. This means that tax payer know exactly what amount of tax they pay and hence demand an equivalent amount of service from their municipalities. The tax is visible because it is paid in lump sum unlike other taxes that are withheld at the source (income tax) or paid in small amount after each purchase (sales tax) . Similarly, the tax is used to fund services such as garbage collection, road maintenance, policing, among others. These services are very visible and hence tax payer... ... middle of paper ... ...05): 1-20. Locke, Wade, “Future of Municipal Revenue,” (Presentation, Municipalities Newfoundland and Larbrador, Gender, NL April 30, 2010). Ottawa, “Ontario’s Property Tax System,” City of Ottawa (March 15, 2011): http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/proptaxes/general_info/on_tax_system_en.html (accessed Nov 4, 2011). Slack Enid a, “The Property Tax…in Theory and Practice,” Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance Working Paper, no. 2 (2010): 1-16. Slack Enid b, “Assessment Limits for Ontario: Could We Live with the Consequences?” Association of Municipalities of Ontario, (June 2010): 1-48. Vander Ploeg Casey, “Problematic Property Tax: Why the Property Tax Fails to Measure Up and What to Do About It,” Canada West Foundation, (2008): 1-61. Wannell Ted, and Chawla Raj, “Property Tax,” Perspectives on Labor and Income 4, no. 7 (2007): 7-14.
Netzer, D. (1973). The incidence of the property tax revisited. National Tax Journal, 26(4), 515-535.
After tracing the evolution of the provincial-local financial relationship in Canada it has become apparent that the trend, throughout history, has been towards greater Provincial control and in turn less fiscal autonomy for the municipality. There has been an increase (due to demand as well as downloading from the provinces) in the functions and responsibilities of the municipality, as well as the cost of these functions, and a decrease in fiscal resources and revenue sources.
A BID is defined as, “[a]n organization of property owners in a commercial district who tax themselves to raise money for neighborhood improvements” (Cullingworth, 387). Assessments are then made mandatory and collected by the city. Thus, funding does not come by way of the federal government, but city’s can utilize grants to help fund their efforts. In this way, the federal governments support the community economic development, but takes no direct efforts in funding the programs. The city’s then offer incentives, in the form of tax exemptions, to attract developers. In turn, new construction would create jobs and lower unemployment. Theoretically, the encouragement of a tax incentives is to stimulate the economic growth of an area with higher unemployment rates. The problem is many developers tend to gravitate towards the city’s that can offer greater incentive. Officials have wondered if these programs benefit the cities with the greatest
...t severely reduced the amount of property taxes collected and thus diminished funding for California's education system. Although, voters intended to reduce state government interference in local governance, the proposition had the opposite effect. The shortfall in tax revenue made it necessary for the State to provide aid to local governments to keep public safety, welfare programs, and education programs running. Property tax revenue at the county level decreased from thirty-three percent to only twelve percent after the implementation of Proposition 13.(Chapman 1998) The allotment of aid means that the state has greater control over how money is allocated and spent, while cities were able to transfer lost revenue onto residents through service fees, counties had to turn to state and federal funding to provide for public safety and public assistance programs.
Prop 13 not only took away local governments’ ability to increase property tax as needed, but transferred the authority to distribute property tax revenue to the state legislature based on pre-Prop 13 distribution (Cummins 2014, 234). This was extremely beneficial to the jurisdictions that had significantly increased property taxes just prior to Prop 13, but those that had not were permanently left with a much smaller share of the revenue (Cummins 2014, 234). California cities felt an impact from Prop 13 more from the constraints on other revenue raising options with a prohibition on the use of general obligation bonds and voter approval requirements for any local tax increases (Cummins 2014,
On November 3 of this year, Texans will have the opportunity to vote on several proposed amendments to the Texas constitution. The first of these, Proposition 1, proposes to increase the homestead exemption available to property owners from $15,000 to 25,000. Supporters of the measure claim the amendment would provide much needed tax relief for Texans across the state, among other benefits. On the other hand, opponents of the measure argue that this proposed amendment would alienate Texans who don't own property, in addition to other complaints. Is this amendment a good or bad idea? This essay will attempt to shed some light on the matter by analyzing the arguments for an against the amendment. I'll also argue
Then comes the education part, where according to the author Jonathan Kozol in his book Savage Inequalities Children in America’s schools, property tax is one of the main financial distributions that goes towards local schools. In Kozol’s book he quotes that, “typically in the United States, very poor communities place high priority on education, and they often tax themselves at higher rates than do the very affluent communities.
Taxation has always been a major controversy. Just like any major corporation, the government is constantly looking to raise revenue. The easiest and fairest way to do this is by taxing the people. However, how the people will be taxed is always an issue.
Tax reform has undergone much debate in the political stratosphere recently. The tax system has been stigmatized because of a multitude of reasons that include corruption. Additionally, tax reform is a very complex issue. In addition, there has been an abundance of negotiations in Congress to pass some type of tax reform. Despite these talks, actual action has remained stagnant. This topic clearly reflects the collective action principle and the policy principle due to failed tax reform negotiations and the outcomes of various legislation.
The expansion of the United States is such a vital part of American history, yet some often forget how it all happened. Many thriving settlers were given an extraordinary opportunity starting on January 1, 1863 that would end up laying the floor work for many Midwestern and Western citizens today. The rights and responsibilities to live on and maintain 160 acres of land may seem like a lot to take in for a student learning about an Act about land from the 1860s. However, think about all the people the Homestead Act of 1862 affected. There was a lot of pressure on the original homesteaders to make good use of their newfound land, the government was giving out land that wasn’t exactly theirs, and the Native American would have some their rights stolen.
The use of taxes is one of the government's favorite ways to make its presence known in the economy. While this method seems blatantly obvious, many of the ways the government uses the money collected by taxation is not. Some of the money it takes is used to fund other programs designed to "protect" consumers and to "create" jobs. Be...
Rapid population growth and increasing urbanization have triggers increases in demand for real property. These developments ultimate translate to the responsibility of local authority in providing facilities for the public. Therefore, local government need some sources to provide these facilities. Basically local government income comes from taxes, fees and fines. Property taxes are the largest fund and backbone of municipal finance which is used to provide amenities and services. However not all land parcels and buildings can be taxed. There are some taxable properties which are exempted by law such as non profit religious, health, education and /or social activities; wildlife reserves and forests and other protected areas; cemeteries; those related to the functioning of certain international organisation; and those related to official foreign diplomatic presence (Lewis, 2003).
The government use of taxes plays a crucial role in today’s economy as well as personal finances, it has and will continue to leave its mark on the world we live in.
Property tax is the main source of schools funding that is simply supplemented by local funds. This makes funding schools already a hardship on the homeowner. Then if a tax levy is passed the tax rate on the homeowner goes up making the person most affected by levies the local homeowner. This is a controversial issue because the local homeowners do not want to be the only people funding schools, nor can out schools be maintained by them alone. This will only cause them to be underfunded, not maintained, and teachers under paid, issues that were addressed in the court case DeRolph V. State that declared supporting schools with property tax alone unconstitutional. Other towns use tax money from sales and the taxes businesses pay to help with the schools cost. However, in my hometown there are only a few businesses, and due to the size and makeup of the town, these businesses do not usually last more than a few years. This is a very isolated community and the citizens tend to shop in other towns, where it might be cheaper, for the things they need, generating less revenue for the town and as a result less tax dollars for the school
Williams, Joy. "One Acre: On Devaluing Real Estate to Keep Land Priceless." Listening to Earth.