Home and financial security

The tax freeze was a good idea when it was established. It still is. One of the main effects of the freeze was to help young homeowners. It stabilized their mortgage costs. Taxes are included in the escrow account that is part of your mortgage payment. A tax increase raises your house payment. If you are planning to buy a house this is especially important.

The tax freeze is fair. It applies to all homeowners. Because of that it has been ruled constitutional by our highest courts. If the present freeze is lifted, we will have two classes of homeowners. What then remains of the freeze will no longer have constitutional protection.

If you prosper and move to a more expensive house, yes, your taxes will be adjusted to the cost of your new home. But if you continue on your current financial path, tax increases will be one less thing to worry about.

Another reason for the tax freeze was to protect the elderly and retirees. Retirement has two negatives. One is that you are unlikely to get a pay raise. The second is that you will get to meet a lot of new people. Unfortunately most of them will be in the health care field. In 2000, when I retired, I would never have believed we would meet so many nice folks at Emory and John B. Amos. Their acquaintance is expensive.

I strongly believe that we should preserve the tax freeze for future generations. For you young people, if you behave yourselves and eat right, the chances are good that you too will grow old. And when you do, you will be eternally grateful that the folks before you had sense enough to keep a rope on the tax man.

Vote no to keep the freeze.

Frozen growth

The Greater Columbus Home Builders Association strongly endorses the “Thaw the Freeze” initiative to retire the current antiquated property tax freeze system. A Fair Market Value Tax will help bolster our local economy by increasing consumers’ willingness to purchase and improve homes, creating more jobs in Columbus.

The current property tax structure puts a disproportionate burden on anyone purchasing a new home in Columbus. Approximately 16% of new property taxes subsidize those who pay well below their fair market share of property taxes. Thawing the Freeze allows existing homeowners to keep their current property tax freeze, while ushering in a more equitable property tax structure for new homeowners.

It will also have a direct and positive impact on the creation of jobs. The homebuilding industry is a major economic stimulator and indicator for any local economy. Home sales affect blue collar and professional jobs alike. Our outdated property tax freeze system inhibits home sales and stunts the demand for new or renovated homes. Columbus had a 2.5% real estate transfer rate last year, which was third lowest in the state of Georgia. This rate is ridiculous for such a dynamic and proud city. When local industries like homebuilding and real estate are stagnated, the effects reverberate throughout the local economy.

Help us grow our local economy. Reach out to friends to let them know how important it is we seize this opportunity to retire the current archaic tax policy that inhibits both growth and productivity in Columbus. Vote “Yes” to Thaw the Freeze.

For the Board,

Third option?

The debate about the tax freeze/thaw presents a true dilemma. Columbus needs additional revenue if it will grow and provide the services we all expect. But I am impressed by the argument that the current proposal to create a two-tier system of taxation probably will not hold up to a legal contest, and all tax rates may be unfrozen. What to do?

My neighborhood has many houses with long-term owners and very low taxes, as well as quite a few that have changed owners several times. With notable exceptions, the long-term owners seem generally more involved in maintaining their properties and interacting with neighbors. I believe there is virtue in providing incentives, i.e. reduced taxes, for urban homeowners to remain in their homes, rather than flipping houses or migrating to the suburbs. I also have many senior neighbors who could not possibly afford a 10-fold or greater increase in their taxes. For those reasons, regretfully, I will vote against the current proposal.

If the measure fails, I suggest a compromise new proposal. If we reduce the percentage of taxes frozen for all homeowners, at an annual rate perhaps tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), it will gradually increase revenues without dramatic effects on long-term residents. So, for example, if the CPI is 3%, all frozen tax rates would be adjusted up 3% in a given tax year, and the subsequent years would add to the increases at the prevailing CPI. Assuming a constantly positive CPI, the frozen tax rates will increase gradually, without creating the sudden effects that “gentrification” would impose on long-term homeowners. This proposal is progressive, since the effective increase on low-taxed properties will be smaller than on high-taxed properties. This also should pass a court challenge because it is equitable.

No letters relating to the Nov. 8 election will be published after Friday, Nov. 4. Depending on volume, it is possible we might not be able to publish some letters received earlier. We will make every effort to publish letters received in time for the Friday deadline.

This story was originally published October 24, 2016 at 2:45 PM with the headline "Home and financial security."