Property Tax Increase Battles

Fulton and Hall County taxpayers are not happy with their County Commissions and their proposed property tax increases.  Fulton County wants a 17% increase for services used by some, but not all property owners.  Their excuse is that they haven’t raised the millage rate for a while.  Hall County wants to hit their Lanier Lake-front property with 300 to 1000% for the same reasons, but they hired an out-of-town company to do the appraisals and there is no justification, just high estimates; this sounds like a bad decision.  Both sets of taxpayers are heading to the Gold Dome for relief.  Fulton taxpayers are cheering for the State to win Fulton’s “home rule” claim.  Hall taxpayers want Georgia to set a “no more than 3% per year increase rule.

The problem with property taxes is that the economic fundamentals are bad.  The 44 million age 25 to 35 population is living in their parent’s basement or at grandma’s house when they should be entering the buyers’ market.  House prices have returned to pre-meltdown levels, but that’s because investors are buying up houses, looking for places to hide their money and get a return.  They are doing this because the Fed is continuing to print an extra $85 billion a month.  This is another housing bubble economic historians will call the “little housing bubble”.

Taxpayers don’t want to pay for government’s mistakes and when you go after them for more property tax, they fight.  The best way to fight this is to recruit candidates for each County Commission seat and announce them now and keep their yard signs up until after the election. They should form a “shadow government” and meet and vote on everything the Commission votes on.  Another good way to fight is to point out that the Gold Dome has passed laws allowing cities and counties to abuse their taxpayers and demand that they rein them in.  “Taxation without Representation” is the appropriate battle cry.  Ask Cobb County taxpayers about not getting to vote on a $400 million Braves Stadium Bond.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader