Forget the politics, although it seems as though the General Assembly can’t. Government is by the people, and for the people. So where did Indiana and the U.S. go wrong? This is the real reason for reform:
Hi Abdul,
My story is just one example of why you can’t just take the purchase price and figure a property tax. My house was built in 1870- an historic Irvington home. The purchase price left enough money to start working on it, too, to try to return it to its former glory. Then came the court decision, and then the reassessment. Now the taxes are $420.00/ month. Now there’s not enough money left over for improvements- do you know how big a second mortgage I could have gotten for $420.00/month? So now I can’t fix it up, and I can’t sell it- who would pay what I did for a fixer-upper under the new tax structure? Of course, if enough of my neighbors get repossessed or take the bath selling when they’re upside down, the prices will drop and the taxes with it… but then the neighborhood will be distressed and the loan would cost more. Yes, in ten years or so, the fluctuations will even out, and one could use a sales-based tax system- too late for me.
Thanks,
Joel
