Plan Would Let Seniors Work to Pay Tax debt

Arizona Tax Revolt commentary:

Were you as outraged as I was at reading the following BLOG post? What’s next, government taking out a life insurance policy on each delinquent property taxpayer so that government will get its piece of your hide even after death? Of course we have essentially the same thing today, managed by the banking industry and called “reverse mortgages,” yet another way to rob our seniors and any inheritance they may leave behind to their children and grandchildren.

Though the Tax Revolt initiatives perpetuate the Senior Valuation Freeze, the benefits to ALL property owners will in most cases exceed the senior option. We have had just about enough of government and their divide and conquer strategy.

And worse yet making private sector retirees work to pay off their ever increasing property taxes while those increases go to pay for lavish public employee retirement programs is an outrage.

As long as government makes the taxation decisions we property owners are at a distinct disadvantage!

Marc Goldstone, Chair.
Arizona Tax Revolt

Published: December 26, 2007
BLOG: www.dvorak.org

Audrey Davison lives alone, gets a $620 Social Security check each month and worries about the sharply rising taxes on her four-bedroom house. Davison, 76, raised her family there and after 43 years, she really doesn’t want to leave Greenburgh.

Greenburgh doesn’t want her to leave, either. Davison, who suffers from arthritis and sciatica and needs a walker to get around on her bad days, said she pays about $12,000 a year in property taxes - perhaps $2,000 to the town - and has already taken out a reverse mortgage to pay her bills.

Talking to Feiner last week at the town senior center, she said, “I would work as long as it was a job where I could sit.”

The town is pushing a program that would let seniors work part-time, for $7 an hour, to help pay off some of their property taxes. “People shouldn’t have to sell their house, move away to a place with less taxes, leave behind their family and friends,” said Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. Davison, who suffers from arthritis and sciatica and needs a walker to get around on her bad days, said she pays about $12,000 a year in property taxes - perhaps $2,000 to the town - and has already taken out a reverse mortgage to pay her bills.

So her tax bill is $12,000.00 per year. Lets see, if she works full time, doesn’t take vacations, or get sick, she will gross $13,440.00. Hopefully this would be tax free. I cant wait to retire.