CHRISTIAN COUNTY, MO — Senate Bill 190 was passed on to Missouri counties to implement as they see fit. It’s intended to give senior citizens a tax freeze on the home they live in. Here’s why the senior tax freeze is even necessary now. Click here for more.
First of all, a tax freeze doesn’t eliminate the current tax being paid yearly. It just would keep future taxes from going up, starting next year.
Here’s why it’s needed. Taxes are high.
News flash, right?
People are paying thousands of dollars in taxes per year on their homes. That won’t change. Younger people’s homes will be taxed more and more. Older people’s homes won’t, they’ll just keep paying the high current taxes, not the higher future taxes.
Ok, I know it hasn’t been officially approved yet, but Dec. 12 the county commission will approve it, either 2 to 1, or unanimously by all three. So, it’s a foregone conclusion.
Enough of the setup. Here’s why it’s necessary now. State Rep. Jamie Gragg of the 140th district, which includes Ozark, told the CCT in an official statement:
State Rep. Jamie Gragg
“Since May, I have been hearing that SB 190 is a huge problem and will divide our people. On the one side, you have seniors needing help due to a constant price increase on everything.”
“On the other, you have tax receiving groups complaining they don’t have enough money. The issue isn’t SB 190. The problem is that we NEED something like SB 190. We as voters allowed those in office to sway us into voting for every tax that comes along.”
He’s not wrong
Gragg isn’t wrong. Indeed, voters have approved the taxes they now complain about. And true, the elected officials persuaded them of the various reasons why each tax was necessary along the way.
Now, because voters continue to buy what politicians sell, they’re hurting. Ouch!
Resistance Training
So, the CCT is now offering a free future tax resistance course, right here, right now. You’re welcome!
FREE FUTURE TAX RESISTENCE COURSE
SCHOOL: Hey, guys, we need to build a new arts center for our kids to perform glorious stage plays.
VOTER: No, thank you.
SCHOOL: It’s for the kids! They’re our future!
VOTER: They won’t have a future if I can’t keep a roof over their heads and feed them.
SCHOOL: The kids are our responsibility. We’ll feed them breakfast and lunch.
VOTER: Test scores are dropping like temperatures in the arctic. Kids are being indoctrinated into wokery and forgetting the importance of God, country and family. I’ll feed, house, and train them, thanks anyway.
COUNTY: We need you to shop local and buy local so we can survive on your sales taxes.
VOTER: We like shopping and eating in the nicer places in Greene County, and we like living in Christian County where it’s safer.
COUNTY: We need money for a new jail.
VOTER: Yes, you do. But that’s so you can make money from federal inmates with increased floor space. You have county property that you are planning to sell. Budget that money wisely for the new jail. DO NOT ASK FOR A TAX INCREASE.
LAW ENFORCEMENT: We need new cars and more officers.
VOTER: Find a way and we will work with you WITHOUT a tax increase. Budget better.
TAXING ENTITY: We need…
VOTER: No.
TAX ENTITY: But you don’t understand.
VOTER: I do. I budget for my life and my household. I don’t get as much as you do. You can do it. Budget better.
One more rant
Kids are better off working in groups outside. In the clean air. Without gadgets. They will have a sense of accomplishment when they do a project together. They could paint the school, do the landscaping, etc. with supervision from local professionals. They could manage money with play money and go through scenarios of investing and transactions.
NOTE: THE SCHOOLS IN NIXA GET OVER $80 million in taxes per year, and with new growth, saw more than $3 million in NEW money last year. And they still complained about the senior homeowners’ tax freeze. They get 72 percent of the property tax, and the county gets 12 percent. And the school complailned!
Ozark got more than $2 million in new money, with an equally fat budget over $80 million. At least they didn’t whine about the tax freeze for seniors.
2 responses to “Why senior tax freeze is even necessary now”
I confess to having wondered what this tax freeze was all about. As a senior citizen, I figured people might not appreciate any opinion I might have, anyway.
Now that I’ve read your article, I finally understand it and I have an opinion that I think others will appreciate. Thank you!
[…] Gragg indicated how Morris and other officials need not complain about having to mediate between taxing entities, which get tax money from property taxes, such as schools, versus seniors who often desperately need a tax break. “It’s their job,” Gragg said. See more about Gragg’s position here. […]