Say Anything Blog

And replace it with more government spending!

Seriously, though, if the Governor had been listening to his conservative base he’d have realized that his property tax credit scheme was a loser from the get-go.

By DALE WETZEL Associated Press Writer Bismarck, N.D. (AP) Gov. John Hoeven wants to dump a North Dakota income tax credit for state property taxpayers.

Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple outlined the governor’s plans for the Legislature’s interim Taxation Committee.

Hoeven has proposed a $300 million school aid plan. It would set aside $200 million for local school property tax cuts and provide $100 million in extra state aid.

Dalrymple says the plan would result in an average school property tax rate reduction of 55 mills. Now the state average school general fund tax rate is almost 191 mills.

The problem with the Governor’s plan is that it takes money from the surpluses in the state budget - which proves that North Dakotans are being taxed too much by the state - and uses it to essentially “buy down” local property taxes, which does nothing to address why local property taxes are so high in the first place.

Namely, excessive spending by local government.

Rather than spending state budget surpluses which, in a perfect world, would be going back to North Dakota taxpayers in the form of tax cuts and tax rebates, Governor Hoeven should use the power of the Governor’s office to put the blame for high property taxes back where it belongs: Local government officials.

He should also pressure those officials to rein in spending so that soaring property taxes, which almost nobody in North Dakota is happy about, can be put in check.

Let’s remember that rising taxation is always associated with rising spending.  If North Dakotans are upset at rising property taxes they need to address what those taxes are being spent on, and ask themselves whether or not those expenditures are worth it.