Whenever public debate arises over whether more taxpayer dollars should go toward local government, the point of contention is whether or not the Hamilton County homeowner must pay more in property taxes to cover expenses for services like public education and law enforcement.
We’ve made no secret on this page of our position: We can and should ask more from homeowners to fund things like higher teacher salaries and more robust public transportation.
The conservative presupposition that we should tax only at the bare minimum is rooted in a myopic and misguided economic understanding that deepens existing inequities. By living in and benefiting from this community, we have all entered a social contract. That means all of us must contribute financially to the best of our ability.
But there are sensible objections to property tax increases from the left side of the aisle. Raising taxes on properties quickly gaining value in gentrifying neighborhoods like Highland Park places an extra burden on low-income homeowners who have lived there for generations – people often described as “house poor.”
This is especially true for elderly households on a fixed income. The successful effort last year from Chattanooga City Council member Ron Elliott to freeze property tax payments for adults 65 and older and earning less than $60,000 a year should be commended and replicated at the county level.