Opinion Time!

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One of our readers has been in correspondence with Scott Herndon, former Idaho Senator, in regard to eliminating property taxes.

What is your opinion on property taxes? Should they stay or should they go? Why or why not?

 

14 thoughts on “Opinion Time!”

  1. If you own your home (mortgage paid off) and you are over the age of 65, you should not be paying property taxes. Those same people should be given the option to voluntary opt in for paying for police, fire, ambulance service and nothing else (city, county, state, schools). The problem is in our county, 55 percent of the property taxes are paid for by people 50 years old and up, yet we only represent 32 percent of the population. So the oldest citizens in our county pay disproportional amount of taxes for service for all. By eliminating property taxes for those over 65, Boundary County budgets would take a ~24 percent across the board cut unless that difference was transferred to property owners under 65, raising their property taxes ~30 percent each. If we made only primary residences for 65+ property tax exempt, than the property owners under 65 would only see a ~25 percent raise in the property tax. If this were to be passed to today I would be charged an extra $750 a year in property tax since I am under 65; but then I would save ~$3,000 a year once I turned 65. By charging younger mortgage owners the extra $750 a month and then having them stop paying at 65 they would save $22,000 over the life of the mortgage assuming they have a 30 year mortgage and live until they are 75 (if they live longer, they save more). While $22K is not a lot of money over a 45 year period–it is better than giving that amount to the government. So yes–property tax should be changed to exempt homeowners over the age of 65 years old.

    1. If you own a thing, you shouldn’t have to make regular monthly payments on it forever in order to keep it. I understand that currently property taxes are the primary source of revenue for the county; that’s the thing that should be changed. All taxes (sales, income, gas, alcohol, etc) should be primarily assessed and spent at the local/county level, not going to DC and Boise and trickling back. That’s something to fight for legislatively.

      As for Mr Mickle’s proposal: no-one wants to see grandma lose her home. But the reality is, the vast majority of wealth is currently held by retired people. The average age of a millionaire in the US is 61. 80% of all millionaires are over 50, 67% are over 60.
      That generation is also supplemented by social security, which is money taken directly from those currently working and given to those over 65. Most of those who pay social security don’t expect to receive significant benefit from it as its value is eroded over time, and those who currently receive it are on average wealthier than those paying it.
      The average age to buy a first home is now 40 years old. If you are 65 with a paid off home, you already have a higher net worth and lower costs than those younger people with mortgages can expect to have when they are your age. Mr Mickle’s proposal is to take more from them.
      If you have seen those “anti-boomer” memes and don’t get why young people resent the older generation – this is why.

      1. Hello! Just wanted to remind that we need to have your name (first and initial or first initial and last name if preferred) Can’t do anon. Thanks!

        1. Does that policy hold true about always having a name attached with an article being posted? I’ve noticed various postings with no name at all.

          1. Katie here…it’s understood that it’s published by 9B.News. Comments need to not be anon so we can weed out AI and some comments that truly don’t have Boundary County as a connection.

  2. I knew there were a lot of brain-dead transplants, but this takes the cake! In what world do you live in where you don’t see the need for police, fire, city/ county road maintenance and a host of other things taxes pay for? As a “boomer” I worked hard for what I have and contributed to the economy and social security for over 40 years. If your life is so bad because you did not plan for the future leave Idaho and go somewhere you think you can live without paying taxes.
    Bruce Whittaker
    Naples, Idaho

  3. The answer for essential services is to replace property tax funding with funding from state sources.

  4. If both House Bills 292 and 521 in 2023 and 2024 had pasted,. both would have supplanted local property tax funding with state funding.

    1. Again…..To have the same services we shell out $$$ (property taxes) for, what if the state provided that same service? From what I read, the budget is there. It’s common sense … Why are we paying taxes to the state for what it’s supposed to provide? Then here we are “struggling” to get by. I don’t know about anyone else, but at 75, I’ve paid my dues. These people who only think about themselves and not the whole picture … “hmm?”

      1. So………… where does the state of Idaho get the money for the budget?

        Bruce Whittaker
        Naples, Idaho

        2. This reply should replace the one before this one.
          I see you are a few years younger that myself. Imagine the state taxes that we both have paid in, now imagine the vast amount of people living in Idaho who are still paying a state tax every year. From what I’ve read, there are a lot of state agencies that can be thinned down, kinda like the corruption DOGE found in the US Govt. Don’t take my word for it. Read for yourself.

          1. Thank you again for validating my “brain dead transplant ” comment.

            Bruce Whittaker
            Naples, Idaho

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