■ 25 February 2008 | 7:04 AM
Try a payroll tax
The leaders of Virginia Beach have had carte blanche with the taxpayers' money for too many years. There are accounts in the city that would shock you, and if the nation is in a recession with severe inflation, we can expect hefty increases in our property taxes this year and next.
There is a solution to eliminating the rising property tax. Initiate a payroll tax (it worked for several cities in Michigan) 1 percent if you live and work in Virginia Beach and 0.5 percent if you live here but work in another city. November is election time for the mayor and other council members. Vote them all out of office and let's start over.
Fred Glenn
Virginia Beach
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the dillon rule
is a perfect example of nanny state gov't run by the elites who 'know better' than the folks they govern. The Libertarian Party has certainly changed since the republicans took it over.
Libertarian policy follows the Constitution
In Virginia, Dillon's Rule provides a restraint on the excesses of local government's attempts to tax residents of neighboring localities and to create a hodgepodge of local laws that impede commerce and travel between localities, much like the limitations placed on the States by Article 1 sections 9 and 10 of the US Constitution.
Without Dillon's Rule, we would have Norfolk trying to tax residents of neighboring cities who work, but cannot vote there, to pay for programs from which they will receive no return.
Driving across the State, you would encounter traffic and firearms laws that arbitrarily changed each time you crossed a county or city line.
There are good reasons to keep each level of government limited to its proper role, and Dillon's Rule serves that function in Virginia.
libertarian values?
Funny to see a libertarian support big gub'mint controlling localities via the Dillon Rule rather than let communities govern themselves.
Moses??
Where would they go?
Have you noticed all the Michigan license plates around here? When the jobs leave, the people follow.
The only way a city income tax works is when the jobs can't leave. That might work for government employees, but a local income tax would drive every hospital, Dr's office and other service provider across the city line in short order.
DavidM
My response was actually two parts. The writer claims that RISING property tax would be eliminated if the MI model was adopted by implementing a personal income tax. He didn't say property tax would be eliminated. In fact, no city can afford not to tax property.
I showed where the personal property tax was much higher than any city here in Hampton roads and that there was a 2.5 percent income tax on top of that. The home I used was worth $300k but was only taxed at $150k - but that tax was $7808 in East Lansing. If I had a taxable income of $50k, I would also have to fork over an additional $1250 for a total of $9058. Nobody I know in this city is paying anything near that amount in personal property taxes given the same home value and income. Instituting a city income tax is an asinine idea because personal property tax won’t go down.
Mr. Tabor
Your entire thought process about the value of that so called "wonderful" Dillon Law was quite a stretch. So, just where do you think this 50% of the current population is going to move, let alone find new jobs. Are you going to be their Mosses??
Thank goodness for Dillon's Rule
Were it not for Dillon's Rule, some localities would be greedy and foolish enough to try this.
At least it would bring assessments down, as half the property in town would be vacant in 5 years.
More of the same
Michigan has the worst unemployment in country. Yet you feel we should follow their lead? Interesting.
You say to vote them all out and start over. Are you announcing your intention to run for office? Thought not. Just another complaining coward.
How things work
When you vote for city council members, you need to let these people know what you expect of them, just like when you hire someone into your business. Then you follow up and make sure they are doing the job you hired them to do. You let them know if they are not doing the job and do what's necessary if they can't or won't do what you expect of them. If you don't do this, you get what you've got, people who do what they want to do for their own selfish interests and build their own little empires. People who have the best interests of the city and are willing to serve are hard to find. We need to start looking.
Steveh3, please clarify
Steveh3,I think I missed something here with your response. Unless I'm wrong I believe the math is suppose to be based upon your income and not your assessed home value??? One percent of an income of $100,000 is only $1,000. If all the cities within Hampton Roads did it there would not be a mass exit. At any rate there sure needs to be a better way that treats everone much more fair than the one we have.