The one important thing about any taxation is that it should be fair. That is to say, those who can opt out or get special consideration, or simply are held to another standard, present the proximate problem of taxation as being unequal and thereby unfair. As it stands, property taxes are needed to properly fund schools, law enforcement, first responders, and other governmental agencies. So then, to the degree that certain entities, whether universities, churches, nonprofits of all types, or special dispensations provided to for-profit corporations who thereby don’t pay property taxes, signify that more of the burden of having to pay those property taxes, will thus rest on the shoulders of homeowners.
Indeed, when it comes to property taxes, not only should all property taxes, be absolutely transparent, but also it is necessary to have visible all those who own property that don’t pay taxes, thereby providing the general public with knowledge of which of these entities are not pulling their own weight, because whenever certain peoples, organizations, and corporations are accorded special consideration whereof they don’t pay their fair share or any share at all when it comes to property taxes, there needs to be a clear understanding as to why this is so. For instance, for-profit corporations should always have to pay their fair share and should not be permitted to exert pressure upon governmental representatives that because they will, in theory, provide local jobs, they should be exempted from such. So too, when it comes to universities as well as all non-profits, each of these should be examined very closely, and audited in a way and manner, to determine as to why these are exempt from the payment of property taxes, as opposed to the belief that just because they are non-profit that they shouldn’t need to pay property taxes, because not every non-profit or university is in and of itself, doing enough for the community, at large, that they should be able to avoid paying their fair share, or some portion of such in property taxes.
The thing about property taxes, unlike other taxes that are based upon capital gains or income, is that whether or not the property that is owned, still has a mortgage, property taxes are assessed to such, each and every year, signifying that when it comes to property taxes for regular folks, even when they no longer have a job, or no longer have a mortgage, those property taxes still are mandated to be paid. So too, for those who own property but are still paying their monthly mortgage, having to pay property tax, is just one more burden upon them, that most people, would prefer to see such as being fair and equal for all.
In sum, all those that are exempted from paying property taxes or get such reduced or abated for some period of time, should not only be public knowledge, but it also should be periodically reviewed or examined in its totality because the fewer entities that pay their fair share into the common welfare of a given community, the more the burden rests on those that are not exempted from such, which is unfair and unwise.