[StBernard] Hospital tax passes in St. Bernard Parish--homestead exemption

[Westley Annis]

Jer,

Louisiana needs to do two things and both of them involve the word drop.

Drop the homestead exemption, it is getting to be rather pointless in
today's economy and does nothing but empower the various parish assessors.

Drop the income tax or the sales tax, preferably the sales tax. Revenues
lost from whichever tax should be made up by revenues gained by dropping the
homestead exemption.

Again, you can write off property taxes and income taxes on your federal
taxes (if you meet certain criteria), but you can never write off sales
taxes.

Westley

-----Original Message-----
"Unfortunately, in the state of Louisiana, we have the homestead exemption,
so everyone gets a break on the first $75,000 of value on their property,
except for businesses, which get no exemption. Some home owners will pay no
taxes because the value of their property does not exceed $75,000.
--Westley."

Jer responds:

Wes, once again, I'll disagree on the importance of the "golden egg" or
taboo tax break of a homestead exemption that you contend is BAD for
Louisiana. I will say this: If one is liberal (which you're not, I gather)
it's the "thought that counts". In other words, this IS liberal thinking in
believing the government (in this case, local) should be taxing the rich
(those homeowners who own homes over the Priceline of $200,000) at the
expense of the poorer home owner (sounds like Obama spiel when one can
compare taxing those over $250,000 across the board).

How was it when many had homes of under $75,000 and fewer homeowners in
Louisiana 10 or more years ago paid no taxation under the homestead
exemption and governments got along fine with sufficient funding to prosper?
Now that there's a recession, there's crying going on that the exemption is
evil and governments in Louisiana cannot collect more from the poor
homeowner who is struggling from loss of income, paying a mortgage and
eating, much less pay more taxes! (which liberals love during a recession as
well, if the consideration to expire the Bush tax cuts in January). Again
sounding very familiar.

The moral of this story is that the downtrodden who is barely making it
needs tax cuts not only to poor the savings back into the economy, but to be
in place to barely get by.

Taxation is fine during prosperity (but not too much taxes as we're all
taxed to death with the 10% local/state/fed taxes we pay). And, as if the
governments do feel the religious can Tithe instead of the moral tithing to
their church to that 10% to government usage, thus "stealing the Lord's
request.

Depending upon viewpoint, depending upon political affiliation or ideology,
and depending upon moral belief, the homestead exemption champions a tax
break to those who struggle mostly. If one looks at the point that Sales tax
is higher (10%) in comparison to millage (very small percentage), one truly
has to discuss it in terms that the home is $75,000 to millions of dollars
and millage. Then, the application per thousand to accumulate hundreds to
thousands of dollars to the homeowner is crucial here and not only
appropriate to discussion FOR keeping the homestead exemption but does fit
into the equation of large amounts of hundreds of thousands of dollars for
home taxation compared to small purchases with the Sales tax (and remember
taxes on the sale and purchase of the home). 

In this respect, the homestead exemption in fact, should be INCREASED TO
$150,000. The states that do not have an homestead exemption may not be
pulling in many of the taxes we as Louisianans are paying. (some communities
pay no sales taxes, no break tag taxes, no this nor dat taxes, etc.).
Therefore we balance it out with homestead exemption in property taxes. 

The real reason lastly, is that the individual ALWAYS proceeds and
supersedes a government. The benefit to the individual must not be minimized
to the extent that government runs the individual and not the people ruling
their community. In these terms, we equate taxation locally to that of
federal government (that the over-taxation of a citizen is bad to one
seeking the constitution's "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"
(which happiness was once "property" along with life and liberty).

No more taxes. Because once released in overabundance can deprive one of the
rights given by God, expected by citizens and demanded by homeowners who
favor the homestead exemption cut from the taxes FIRSTLY, then having to be
taxed to their death.

--jer---