{"id":8514,"date":"2026-04-03T10:45:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T14:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=8514"},"modified":"2026-04-03T10:45:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T14:45:56","slug":"feel-good-taxation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2026\/04\/03\/feel-good-taxation\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFeel Good\u201d Taxation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ban Property Taxes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here in Ohio there\u2019s a \u201cnew\u201d movement to ban property taxes.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s right, folks are out there campaigning to pass an Ohio Constitutional amendment that would, after a year, drop all property taxes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s driving this movement?\u00a0\u00a0Well, first of all, no one likes taxes.\u00a0\u00a0So it makes citizens \u201cfeel good\u201d to actually talk about wiping some out.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s particularly true in most of Ohio, where property values have gone up astronomically in the past few years.\u00a0\u00a0My example:\u00a0\u00a0in 2015 our house here in Pataskala had a market value about $180,000.\u00a0\u00a0We paid around $2300 a year in property tax.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s 1.3% of the value a year.\u00a0\u00a0Ten years later, the same house now has a market value over $300,000.\u00a0\u00a0We pay $4030 in taxes.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s still 1.4% of the value a year \u2013 but it\u2019s a whole lot more money.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That compares to income taxes.\u00a0\u00a0We\u2019re both retired, so our incomes are pretty stable.\u00a0\u00a0We don\u2019t make a whole lot more money now than we did in 2016, and we pay about the same amount of income tax, federal, state and local, every year.\u00a0\u00a0It fluctuates a little bit, often depending on the \u201cpolitics\u201d of the moment.\u00a0\u00a0But, year in, year out, we pay somewhere around 12% of our gross income in taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Income Tax<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Income taxes are flexible.\u00a0\u00a0If you make more money you pay more taxes.\u00a0\u00a0But property taxes don\u2019t work that way.\u00a0\u00a0Sure, you house may increase in value, but you don\u2019t benefit from that increase unless you sell.\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile, the taxes continue to go up on that \u201canticipated\u201d value.\u00a0\u00a0But that anticipation doesn\u2019t put a dime in your pocket when it comes time to pay the tax bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most would agree that income taxes are \u201cfairer\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0But, here in Ohio, the State Legislature is working hard to reduce income taxes.\u00a0\u00a0Maybe that sounds good to some. But\u00a0income taxes are based on earnings, so that those that earn more, pay more.\u00a0\u00a0If you\u2019re Vivek Ramaswamy (Republican candidate for Governor), making millions of dollars a year, income taxes are a bigger burden than on this retired teacher in Pataskala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The State Legislature is dependent on the wealth of Ramaswamy and others for campaign (and other) money.\u00a0\u00a0Those politicians want to keep the wealthy happy, so the legislature keeps income tax low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What We Pay For<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, most of the local services folks get are paid by property taxes, not income or sales taxes.\u00a0\u00a0And in recent years, the Legislature has put more and more of the\u00a0\u00a0burden on the local governments, and picked up less and less of the tab from income tax.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Here\u2019s the list of local entities that get a \u201cpiece\u201d of my property taxes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n