Property Taxes... the Death of US, Michigan and the U.S.A. - Volume 3
Property Taxes... the Death of US, Michigan and the U.S.A. - Volume 3
Has anyone noticed that property taxes seem to go higher and higher each year? Why is this happening you ask. Let's take a look and see if we can figure it out. Find your property tax bills...you may have two, one for the summer and one for the winter taxes. The amounts you pay will differ on those two bills and you pay different millages on each bill. As your property values increase, the amount you pay in taxes will increase. When we vote YES on a bond proposal and millage, we are granting the taxing authorities the right to increase our property taxes. Vote NO on every bond proposal and millage!! We must force the government and other entities seeking our dollars to find another source of revenue. AND THEY MUST STOP SPENDING!!! We are being taxed out of our homes and off our property!! We are being forced to close the very businesses that offer us jobs and a living!!!
In this article we will be tackling the SENIOR and VETERAN millages.
In this article we will be tackling the SENIOR and VETERAN millages.
I live in Cannon Township, Kent County. My home and my business pay millages for the Kent County Seniors and Kent County Veterans millages. Now, I, myself am a senior citizen. As are my folks of course. I also have a son in law who is a disabled army veteran. Others in my family have served. We give a Veteran discount to the vets dining in our restaurant as a way of saying THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE.
But here is what I know about the senior and veterans millages on my property tax bill. There are currently 31 DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES attached to both of those millages!!!
WHAT???? Yes, 31 downtown development authorities each suck off property tax dollars that are meant to go to the seniors and vets. DDAs provide flowers on streets, bike racks in front of stores, work at improving downtown areas... but should that be at the cost of our seniors and veterans? Many who are barely scraping by...to pay a millage on their property tax bill, for THEIR benefit, that actually does them very little good, and goes to all of those DDA’s instead? What services do the seniors and veterans actually receive from these millages? Does anyone really know? And are the services so many and so great, that the seniors and veterans should risk losing their homes to pay for these services? Do these services actually SAVE them money? Would they be able to afford these services, if they needed them? If they weren’t forced to pay an outrageous amount of property taxes? My mom told me that they could not afford SENIOR MEALS....WHAT??? Isn’t that what the senior millage should provide?
I want to support my parents and I do, along with my siblings and their church. I love my veterans.... we owe them so much. We certainly should not be taxing either right out of their homes. It would be better, for us and them, if we donated the money, we currently pay on our property tax bills for the seniors and veterans millages, directly to the seniors and veterans in our homes and communities. Any time we pay a government entity to provide a service, the end recipient gets much less than the full amount. Too many hands grab too many of those dollars before it reaches the intended party.
The senior millage is $126.45 for my home. My business pays $347.85. The veterans receive from my home $12.64 and from my business $34.77. But, remember, 31 Downtown Development Authorities get the biggest share of that money. At least in Kent County. I would rather donate those amounts directly to the people in need. By doing so, we would lower the property taxes of both the seniors and veterans and ourselves. Think about it!! Vote NO, because you DO want to help them.
Property taxes are theft and hurt the very people they are supposedly meant to help!!
