Opinion: Repeal Real Estate Taxes

Dear Editor,

Real estate taxes should be repealed and replaced with local and County Income Taxes. Ownership of real estate is a personal investment, which has become a liability. We take money from our other investments and savings and then borrow more to purchase and mortgage the estate. You then have to add mortgage interest cost, insurance cost, cost and labor of maintenance of the house and landscaping, buy tools and materials, and spend untold hours, which add up to a tremendous investment to have ownership. Real estate taxing is a legal license to steal from citizenry. Real estate taxes are the only investment that is taxed by other than income derived from it. 

Income tax is a much fairer tax. You can’t pay taxes if you do not have enough income. Education from Schools has been proven to provide people with greater incomes, therefore the school taxes should be charged on income taxes to make it fair. Any income derived from ownership of real estate is also taxed legitimately with capital gains tax and income taxes. New York City and Yonkers collect income taxes, so why not let other counties and municipalities do it?

Today governments have mandated so many more bureaucracy programs to be financed by real estate owners, that owning real estate has become unaffordable by a large percentage of citizens. Local Zoning Ordinance and Planning Boards control real estate usage. They have often prevented citizens from using their real estate to do their own planning and commerce.

Harvesting other natural resources such as: gravel, mineral ores, and land water usage is prohibited by political manipulation, which is practically impossible for landowners. It takes millions of dollars of more investments to develop the estate for other uses. Potential income from harvesting natural resources such as oil and gas wells is illegal in New York State. The tax evaluation should have been based on what income is being derived from the real estate but not on whatever the potential use that the estate might have.

High cost of taxes have caused the following: Some small businesses and home buyers could not get enough financing to start their project and pay taxes before their profits can be accomplished. Many start up and troubled businesses to fail. Bankrupted owners to abandon their properties. Some owners allow their property to become bad looking in hopes of getting lower tax assessment. Retired farmers to sell their properties. Governments to lose income by lower reassessing for some businesses such as IBM, foreclosures, giving special businesses incentive tax suspensions, and to have expensive demolishing costs. 

Repealing real estate taxes would allow the following advantages: New and moving businesses and employees would have a great incentive to locate in tax-exempted areas. Most abandoned properties would be rebuilt and reused if it was affordable. The building businesses would flourish. Would be a fantastic boon to the building contractors, and established and new start up industrial businesses and industry. It is unfair to the rest of industries, housing and businesses when politically financed incentives are favored by tax abatements and financial grants. Homeless people might be able to afford some kind of housing.

Sincerely,

Peter J. Vallese Sr.

Endicott, N.Y.