When I teach my children about money this is how I want them to think about what they are spending, if you are paying $20 for the shirt you want to wear; How many hours will you have to work to pay for the shirt? If they are making $10 an hour than they will have to work 2 hours just to pay for the price on the shirt. Then I ask them, do you want to work 2 hours for that item. $20 is less than 10% of their yearly pay; doesn’t look like so much, in terms of percentage, does it?
Ben Huschka Fargo assessor states,” exempt property in Fargo represents under 20 percent of all property in the city.” Doesn’t sound like much, does it?
Let’s look at these exemptions not as a percentage but the cost to us as taxpayers. When an exemption is given by the city, this exemption not only effects what the city collects in property tax it effects all the other property tax for schools, counties, parks etc, whatever entity is on your bill is effected by the sole decision of the city to exempt the property. We do not pay our bills individually to each entity so I compare the city what they have the authority to give away to the impact of the total bill..
If Fargo exemptions are valued at the estimated tax of $7,491,160 total tax, cash, they are giving away 44% of what they collect for just their city budget estimated to be about $16,979,000 total tax, cash, which could have been collected by the city on behalf of all the other entities.
When Fargo or any city decides to exempt property it affects your county, your schools, it is not just a city effect. If a hundred thousand market valued home in Fargo would pay an estimated $1733 in tax, the exemption given was like exempting 4323 homes. In hourly wage of $10, Did those exemptions create 360 jobs? Did those exemptions cause 4323 homes to be built? Or did those exemptions cause 4323 homes to pick up the tab for the services provided for those exempt. For every dollar taken from my pocket to pay property tax for another business is one less dollar for me to invest in my business, my family. Our local leaders, not just Fargo, appear to look at what they are giving away as something but they have not been able to tell us, the taxpayers, what the return on this investment is. As taxpayers at what point do we stop making specials interests and government rich, and start keeping our money for our own families.
Measure 2 will eliminate property tax for all not just for who the city of Fargo chooses to exempt. If it is good for a lot; why not for us all? As tax property taxpayers we are being used and if we don’t like it, they will take our homes. Vote YesM2.com
