• invalidusernamelol [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Depends, a flat tax like that is okay if everyone only owns one home, but in practice it ends up being landlords owning multiple homes and getting a discount on taxes while pegging rent to housing prices.

    So unless you limit the number of homes someone can own, it just ends up fucking the poor.

    • FloridaBoi [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      That’s the scam they’re always pushing with flat income tax (aka “fair” tax) rates where everyone would pay like 10 or 15% no matter what. It’s designed to hurt the “freeloaders” and let the rich off the hook because rate and magnitude both matter.

      Tax structures today effectively push higher rates on middle incomes while filers at either end tend to pay no or low taxes which is why middle income (petite boug) tend to like the idea of this program. It elides that the rich have the most to gain from it since it further impoverishes the already poor.

      Sales, excise and property taxes and even fines and fees have tended to be regressive since they do not consider the payer’s ability to pay.

    • Spongebobsquarejuche [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      But landlords are a current reality, wouldn't they just pass the cost onto their tenants? The commodification of housing is the issue, the fact that being a landlord is the only way to get ahead in this stupid country. I just don't understand the anger at prop 13 when the reality in places like Portland is old ppl losing their homes due to property tax.

      • invalidusernamelol [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        The landlords are currently locked in at charging about 2x or more of the mortgage cost. In my situation, I paid off 1/4 of their mortgage in one year and now they're kicking me out so they can liquidate the property and sell it to another landlord.

        The upside to the flat tax for landlords is that they just get more profit to buy more homes for free. I think a flat tax is fine, but it needs to be limited to primary residences and not all residential property.

        I'm also on the opposite side of the country and have never really looked into prop 13 so take my opinion of it with a grain of salt. I'm just showing how it's could be a handout to people who own multiple homes as "investments" while also being a good thing for poor homeowners who suddenly find themselves in a home worth 10x what they paid for it.

        • Spongebobsquarejuche [none/use name]
          ·
          2 years ago

          I think the attempt to repeal prop 13 without first fixing the 'residents' v 'investment' problem. Is putting the cart before the horse. And would adversely affect low income home owners/ renters.

          • invalidusernamelol [he/him]
            ·
            2 years ago

            Agreed, repealing it is a bad idea, but as it stands it disproportionately helps landlords accumulate more property.