A primer for the feeble-minded
*The marketplace sets the value (what a willing buyer will pay to a willing seller) of your house—not the governor, not the lieutenant governor, not the attorney general, not legislators, not mayors or town council members or supervisors, not the tax assessor, not the bank, not your Sunday school teacher. The marketplace sets the value of your house.
*The tax you pay on your house is determined by two things—the value of your house, as set by the marketplace, multiplied by the rate of taxation that is set by your supervisors, or by your town and city council members. The governor doesn’t set this rate. The lieutenant governor doesn’t set this rate. The attorney general doesn’t. The legislators don’t. The tax assessor doesn’t set it, nor does your Sunday school teacher. The folks you elect locally set this rate.
*If you think this rate of taxation on your house is too high, you can change it. You have the ultimate weapon. It’s called a ‘ballot.’ Use it. Vote out the local folks who have set your rate too high. It is easy. You can do it.
*And two final things to remember:
(1) There is really only one kind of tax in this country. It is income tax. One way or another it all comes out of out of your income; and
(2) It’s spring, true, but it is also the campaign season. You might not want to stand too close. That warm water you feel running down your leg might not be rain.
