The Star in its print edition this morning seems to think that renters don’t pay property tax. Look down toward the bottom of the following image of a sidebar snapped from page one (click it to make it bigger):
where it says “Renters, who don’t pay property taxes, would get no tax break and pay the higher sales tax.”
That’s a case of “false but accurate”. Renters may not get a property tax bill semi-annually, but property tax is figured into the rent renters pay to their landlord. (Assuming their landlord isn’t a total idiot.)
Not only that, renters get a renter’s deduction that is supposed to be a nod to the fact that homeowners get a homestead tax credit.
I can’t find this statement anywhere on the Star’s website, so I’m assuming somebody realized it was stupid and yanked it after the print edition went out.
Perhaps my plunger-boy landlord Brother will weigh in with what he thinks about renters and property tax…
FWIW, I don’t see anything in here addressing the number one reason property tax reform is needed: The state spends too fucking much money and needs to reform itself.
[EDIT: It’s a homestead tax credit, not a deduction.]
A "surly curmudgeon[], suspicious and lacking in altruism." (Robert A. Heinlein)