No Need To Increase Real Estate Tax Rate, Part 2
I ended yesterday’s growls with the promise of posting the ACTA president’s testimony to the Arlington County Board at Thursday evening’s tax rate hearings. The testimony follows:
"Good evening, Board members. My name is Timothy Wise, and I am president of the Arlington County Taxpayers Association.
"Let me first remind you, and those watching at home, that we are here this evening because state law requires the meeting be held whenever the Board wants to raise taxes by 1% or more, and not because Board members want to listen to what taxpayers have to say.
"So how much are you raising taxes this year? If you use the method required by Virginia state law, you are effectively raising real estate taxes 6.7%.
"While you can say that you voted to advertise only a 1-cent increase in the real estate rate increase, that amounts to a 6.7% effective rate increase. For more on the effective real estate tax rate, please refer to the February 19 post at ACTA’s blog, called Growls.
"Let me add that although I did not survey all nearby local jurisdictions, I do know that Loudoun County advertised only a 2.1% effective rate increase. If a 2.1% increase is good enough for the people of Loudoun County, I would appreciate hearing you tell us why Arlington’s effective rate increase is more than three times higher than in Loudoun County.
"Let me close by citing the beginning paragraph and a portion of the last paragraph of an op-ed, titled “Progressive Government is Obsolete,” in last week’s Wall Street Journal by the deputy mayor of New York City, Stephen Goldsmith:
“Across the country, the interests of organized labor, elected officials and taxpayers are colliding over wages, work rules and the astronomical costs of retiree pensions and health care. As important as these specific issues are to resolve, there is another, more fundamental problem causing so many Americans to lose faith in their government: It is not government unions per se but progressive government itself—long celebrated in Wisconsin, New York and elsewhere—that no longer produces progressive results.”
"Goldsmith closed his op-ed by saying what is needed is a new approach to governance, one that respects not only those who are served, but also shows “more respect . . . for taxpayers.”
ACTA members and Arlington taxpayers are encouraged to e-mail the Arlington County Board here or use the County Board's "contact form" to express your concerns about increasing tax burdens.