Quit your whining.
I know, I know. This is the time of year when most folks have to tighten the belt a little and start stuffing the candy jar with every spare nickel and penny so they can pay their property taxes in November - that is, those of you who don't let your mortgage companies suck all your loose change for you so they can pay the bill.By now, most Utahns who own property have gotten notices telling them how much they owe in November. This may not be the time to fully appreciate this fact, but the taxes you will pay are among the lowest in the nation.
According to a survey conducted by the Minnesota Taxpayers Association, the residential property tax in Utah's urban areas ranks 49th in the nation. Suburban areas rank 46th, and rural areas rank 42nd. A lot of this is due to the fact that homes in Utah are taxed at only 55 percent of their value. Commercial and industrial taxes are figured at 100 percent of their value, and the owners of these pay tax rates that rank a little higher, although their 39th place rank still is low. These figures were published recently by the Utah Taxpayers Association.
Senior citizens in Utah pay even less in property taxes because they qualify for a special discount known as the "circuit breaker."
Yet despite the good news, Utah's lawmakers have convened a committee that is studying whether to eliminate property taxes all together. That would be a big mistake.
As this column has noted before, property taxes are the most stable revenue source the state has. To survive bad times as well as good, the state needs a well-rounded tax base. It should tax wealth through the property tax, consumption through the sales tax and the ability to pay through the income tax. It can't afford to rely too heavily on any one source.
But, of course, the property tax remains public enemy No. 1 among taxpayers. Like the villain at an old-fashioned melodrama, it gets roundly booed whenever it shows its face. If all the taxes formed a basketball team, property taxes would be Dennis Rodman.
A recent opinion survey by the Utah League of Cities and Towns emphasized this. Utahns responding to the survey generally were pleased with how their local governments were run. But when asked which type of tax they preferred to see increased if local governments needed extra money, only 7 percent chose property taxes. That was dead last among the choices available.
Not that people were doing cartwheels over any of the other taxes. The largest group of respondents, 33 percent, chose "I don't know." They were followed by 22 percent who picked "miscellaneous/other." The first real tax to make the list was the sales tax, and it was supported by 18 percent.
Property taxes are unpopular because homeowners know exactly how much they pay each year. They get a notice in the mail with the entire bill due by Nov. 30 and with no offer of an easy installment plan. Don't pay and you eventually will lose your home. In good times, property rates rise. Homeowners in the better neighborhoods end up with higher bills, even though they don't necessarily earn more money.
Utah isn't alone in its hate. Nationwide, the anti-property-tax movement has gathered into a wave that is sweeping through many states. Michigan rolled back all its state property taxes. Wisconsin has started an incremental move in the same direction. Arizona passed a $199 million relief bill, reducing rates on the state and local levels. Connecticut slowly is doing away with the property tax on vehicles. The list goes on and on.
But the wave is driven by the strong gravitational pull of robust economies. Many states are in the enviable position of being able to replace a large share of property taxes with other revenues.
The question is, what will happen when the full-moon of prosperity wanes?
When economies go sour, sales tax revenues sink. So do income tax revenues. States that rely too much on these may end up stretching for unpopular life boats. They may even return to property taxes.
Economies ebb and flow. Why set up future state leaders for disaster?
In Utah, property taxes make up only 27.7 percent of total state and local revenues, according to a recent report by the Utah Foundation, a private, nonprofit public service agency.
That's not bad. Given the fact that property tax rates here are among the lowest in the nation, lawmakers ought to leave things as they are.