Tax season is here. It’s not only time to file your income taxes, but to pay your local property taxes, if you have not already. It’s also the time that local governments begin earnestly talking about next year’s fiscal budget and deciding how much money they will need to pay for garbage pickup, police and fire protection, schools, etc.
When it comes to raising revenue, an old aphorism credited to the late Louisiana Sen. Russell Long, longtime chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, generally applies: “Don’t tax you. Don’t tax me. Tax that fellow behind the tree.”
In Tennessee as well as most other states, the fellow behind the tree is usually the property taxpayer, so watch your wallet.
Whether the U.S. Congress, the Tennessee Legislature, or City Council and County Commission, how to pay for government services remains a problem that seems to defy consensus.
We have to face the reality that costs rise each year, but for most blue-collar workers, wages do not. Nor, do Social Security checks. The problem, however, is that at both the state and local level, we as citizens are either asking for or requiring more and more services from state and local governments. Whether it is Medicaid expansion, educational needs, public safety issues, infrastructure, or other demands of government, the result is the need for more tax revenues.
This means that lower property tax revenues must be replaced by other taxes or sources of revenue.
Tennessee has a lot of needs, and Gov. Bill Lee has told the Tennessee Legislature what he hopes to accomplish in the next for years. He wants a pay raise for teachers, new funding to support teachers and students in our traditional public schools, improved school safety, new investment in vocational and technical education as well as reducing recidivism in state prisons, modernizing health care and improving the affectability of services, etc. This will all cost money.
Locally, city and county governments have not outlined their needs. Local officials have few options in raising revenue. Sure, you could urge your city and county officials to keep a lid on tax rates, but if we want quality services and schools, we’re going to have to pay for them.
In an economy that does not equally benefit all residents, some homeowners on the margins will be stressed by increased tax assessments — and severely stressed if increased tax rates are added.
Every county and city government has a wish list. But when it comes to who pays, the taxpayer looks at the needs as opposed to the wants. Each request for funds must be looked at on its own merit. No one wants to pay more taxes, but if the tax is justified and is equally distributed, most residents are willing to foot the bill, even if it doesn’t add up to a pleasant experience next February and March when it comes time to foot the bill.
However, both the city and county need to keep its taxpayers clearly in mind when considering tax increases