Monday, July 17, 2006

DeStefano Proposes Freezing Property Taxes for Seniors

This just in...
Saying it’s time to help ease the burden of rising property taxes for our seniors, John DeStefano – Democratic candidate for governor – is announcing a plan to freeze property tax rates for seniors and use a new millionaire’s tax to pay for it.
...
The tax freeze would take effect on the 2007 property tax bills and affect approximately 150,000 senior households who meet income eligibility requirements. (DeStefano)

Wait. I thought taxing the income of the rich was going to pay for education? Is this in addition to that tax?

Setting that aside, it seems like a good idea on the face of it. How will it work?

· Seniors 65 and older whose annual income is $46,000 or less for a single person or $54,000 or less for a couple living together, are eligible to use the program. Income limits would be adjusted annually for inflation.

· Towns will be reimbursed 100% for the revenue lost as a result of the tax freeze.

· Seniors will apply one time to their town assessor to be eligible for the tax freeze. Every year thereafter the assessor will require certification with the tax bill that the senior(s) remain eligible.

· At the sale of the house, or the death of the owner occupant, the tax freeze will end. Should a surviving spouse over the age of 62 acquire the house through the death of the homeowner, the tax freeze will continue.

· Seniors can continue to use any existing tax benefits including the “circuit breaker.”(DeStefano)

Reimbursing towns for the lost revenue... wait. Weren't towns promised reimbursement for lost revenue for some other tax cut proposal? And wasn't that one of the sticking points-- municipalities feeling they wouldn't see a full reimbursment?

Still, it's certainly not a bad idea, and it's a step in the right direction. It isn't the sort of radical property tax reform I was half-expecting DeStefano to come out with, but it would be a benefit to poorer seniors.

Source

"DeStefano announces property tax freeze for seniors." DeStefano for Connecticut. Press Release, 17 July, 2006.

13 comments:

GMR said...

Why just seniors with lower incomes? Why not everyone with lower incomes?

Won't this end up acting a lot like Prop 13 in California? By freezing their tax rates, seniors will not have an incentive to downsize to a smaller house or condo when the kids move away, because the tax on the new smaller unit in the same town may be considerably higher.

Anonymous said...

What a terrible idea. Property taxes in CT are out of control. At least JDS is talking about the issue. But he should be ashamed for suggesting this stupid idea. It's shameless pandering to the "senior vote."

Our tax system needs overhaul, not tinkering in an attempt to buy the votes of one demographic or another.

How about being brave JDS? Propose something like regionalizing education funding, and paying for it out of the general fund. Local property taxes are the most inequitable, unaffordable, dumb-a** source of education funding imaginable. CT is one of the last remaining states that hasn't figured this out.

Anonymous said...

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that DeStefano hatches these policy pearls while sitting on the toilet?

Didn't we conclude months ago that the most important quality of the Democratic nominee was 'ability to defeat Jodi Rell?'

GMR said...

Anonymous210: I must agree that JDS seems to just say anything. I'm a Republican, and I've often heard there's little difference between Malloy and JDS. I don't look at their websites or follow the race much outside of here. But I must admit that based on what I've read here, JDS seems to have a new crazy scheme about every other day. Maybe Malloy has somke crazy schemes too, but I haven't seen them yet.

I mean, according to JDS, we're going to be running a commuter rail along I-84, widening 95 from Branford to the RI border, more education funding by taxing all those people who make over $500K and then eliminating the property tax except that we're going to eliminate the property tax for seniors or freeze it and then the state is going to reimburse the towns and we're not going to do away with the car tax because then Tommy Hilfiger will benefit but maybe we'll cut the property tax on cars for certain old people and he's going to get more parking at metro north stations and so on.

Anonymous said...

My god who is writing policy for DeStefano since Jacklin bailed? First we get a transportation package that is literally just a wish list of "hey wouldnt it be great if we could do this" ideas with zero substantiation or cost details. Now its a pandering, piece-meal stab at the senior vote. My guess is that most seniors have been voting long enough to see through ploys like this by now.

Don Pesci said...

"Wait. I thought taxing the income of the rich was going to pay for education? Is this in addition to that tax?" GK

Silly Kahn, it's gonna pay for EVERYTHING.

Anonymous said...

So if I live in CT another 20 years I might get a tax break?

Keeping young families is the economic challenge for CT, not seniors who vote in droves or latte sipping Yalie students

All JDS has proposed for us is to bust our zoning codes for subsidizied housing so we lose property values

Anonymous said...

"Tax increases have been particularly brutal to seniors in CT's beach communities"

So inland folks need to subsidize people who can;t afford their view of LI Sound?

We've come a long way from the New Deal

Anonymous said...

no, what is silly is making a chi-chi zip code a lifetime entitlement at the expense of other taxpayers

GMR said...

Old people have their property tax bills go up so much because their property has appreciated. I wouldn't be against letting seniors pay their taxes at their old fixed rate, with the difference, plus interest, to be paid when they sold their house.

This way, seniors wouldn't be burdened with the extra payment, but other residents wouldn't be subsidizing them either. It would also do away with the distortions that come into play when you tax people in the town differently based on their "preferred" status.

Anonymous said...

GMR's idea has merit. It's like a reverse mortgage

It just isn't crass enough for this campaign, I fear

GMR said...

Chris MC: I proposed letting seniors defer their property taxes until they sell their house, and they'd also be charged interest.

Property taxes are still indexed to the property's value. I don't see why seniors who own property should get a break, but seniors who rent should not.

Anonymous said...

I don't know if most of these people talk to seniors, it sounds like they don't. Most seniors I talk to say property taxes are one of their biggest burdens. A lot of them do have a hard time paying these taxes and a freeze would help them. Some people call it pandering while at the same time saying this effects barely any people. Well if it effects only just a few voters maybe it's not so much pandering, but actually a good idea. It's about time we gave back to a generation that has given us so much and stop pricing them out of their livelihood. I'd like to see most of you people live on a senior's fixed income and then tell me this is a bad idea.