House Republicans will try once again to pass HR1, a resolution calling for a vote on a constitutional amendment to impose a permanent, statewide assessment cap. I sent the following to every member of the House by email:
House Democrats– please continue to resist efforts to pass HR1, now incorporated into SR1.
On this issue (statewide assessment cap), YOU ARE RIGHT and the REPUBLICANS ARE WRONG. The harm that this bill will cause is measurable and easily proven.
By resisting SR1/HR1, you will give Georgians REAL TAX RELIEF because you will have protected them from HIGHER TAX RATES caused by ignorant, POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED REPUBLICANS.
I am a conservative, but I am also intellectually honest. I am disgusted by Republicans’ refusal to understand this issue.
Please visit MillageRate.com/blog/ for more info. If you have any questions, you are welcome to contact me at 770-713-8070. Further, I am available to respond on your behalf to any effort by Republicans to use this vote against you.
It takes a two-thirds majority to call a referendum. That means Democrats would have to vote for it. They didn’t. Now the legislation is back. The House Rules Committee pasted it into Senate Resolution 1, state Sen. Chip Rogers repeated effort to get some sort of TABOR amendment into the state constitution.
Georgia Legislative Watch » HR 1 back from the dead
The following was sent to members of the Georgia House this morning. We invite you to reinforce the message by contacting your own state legislator.
Good morning, Representative.
Have you ever SERIOUSLY considered WHY Rep.Edward Lindsey’s assessment cap proposal, HR-1, must be enacted as a Constitutional amendment?
Read more…
The following was sent to all State House members this morning as they prepare to reconsider HR-1, the constitutional amendment to impose a 3% annual cap on increases in property assessments:
NOW….
Local officials can adopt the same millage rate as in the previous year, even as property assessments increase. This generates a tax windfall known as the “back door tax increase.” Property owners pay more even when local politicians don’t “raise taxes.” Read more…
“Georgia Legislative Watch” has graciously published our extensive commentary on the problems with HR-1, HB-233 and assessment caps in general. If you are interested the Georgia legislative process, check out this site.
The cure for “back door tax increases” is simple– require cities, counties and school boards to DO THE MATH. Doing so would remove a variable– the millage rate– from the control of local officials. No longer could they hide increases in the cost of government by maintaining an already inflated millage rate from year to year. No longer could they benefit from the windfall generated by rising assessments even when they don’t “raise taxes.”
Georgia Legislative Watch » COMMENTARY: Property tax issue dissected
(Updated for the 2009-2010 legisative session)
Proponents of assessment caps like HB-517 and HR-1 argue that it is not “fair” for property owners to be taxed on “unrealized gain,” which they define as the increase in the property’s value which is arbitrary (they argue) imposed by some mindless bureaucrat from the county assessor’s office. A person should not be taxed on something that he does not “possess.”
It’s a plausible argument, but fails on closer scrutiny. The “unrealized gain” argument is flawed and illogical.
Read more…
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