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REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION from the Daily Southtown Newspapers August 7, 2001 Q&A: Fixing the system We must simplify the (property tax) system and make it more accurate and less reliant on tax appeals and classification incentives to assure equity. We must loosen the stranglehold of public officials hesitant to initiate reforms, and who enjoy repeated incumbency by virtue of heavy contributions from people who profit from the status quo. Unfortunately, the Cook County assessor devotes far too many resources to lobbying for new classification, tax incentives, senior, homeowner and long-term residential tax exemptions and battling state intervention. With passage of each new tax exemption program, lawmakers continue trying to massage the property tax system into one that is based on one's ability to pay. Property tax exemptions based on income criteria or on which property type should get a classification break are reminders of our over-reliance on this very regressive tax, which is not based on one's ability to pay but on a fixed asset. There are four major solutions to simplify and make the system more accurate. 1. Adopt a uniform assessment level in Cook County, taxing all properties at 33 percent of their assessed valuation. The elimination of classification would dramatically reduce the state multiplier, which more than doubles initial assessments. 2. Reform the property tax appeal system. Place limits on Cook County's triennial reassessment increases to curtail the ever-growing number of tax appeals. Revise the state property tax code to state specifically that any person may file an appeal without hiring legal representation. 3. Safeguard the property tax system from politics by cutting off the flow of graduated income tax in line with 45 other states. We seem to lack the leadership necessary for critical reforms of both Cook County's and Illinois' tax systems. In the past two state legislative sessions, lawmakers have failed to pass a constitutional amendment requiring the state to take greater responsibility for financing education. If the next seven legislative sessions continue in political gridlock, the next constitutional convention in 2008 could be the last chance for meaningful reform. 4. Address statewide inequities of the tax system by adopting a graduated income tax in line with 45 other states. We seem to lack the leadership necessary for critical reforms of both Cook County's and Illinois' tax systems. In the last two state legistative sessions, lawmakers have failed to pass a constitutional amendment requiring the state to take greater responsibility for financing education. If the next seven legislative sessions continue in political gridlock, the next constitutional convention in 2008 could be the last chance for meaningful reform. From: Daily Southtown, Tuesday, August 7, 2001 CFAT News Source news@fairtaxes.net FIXING THE SYSTEM |
