Taxing the golden geezers
I’m convinced it’s easier to separate Siamese twins joined at the head and chest than it is to separate government entities from what they think is their God given right to forcibly collect money from citizens that appoint these yahoos to office in the first place. The latest abuse at the public trough comes in Texas. Not all of Texas mind you, but just two counties whose leaders seem genetically predisposed to ignoring not only public sentiment, but the rule of law as well.
According to Associated Press reports, lawmakers in Texas have twice passed bills that exempt travel trailers from property taxes assessed by Texas counties. Voters have also twice approved constitutional amendments exempting travel trailers from property taxes. So, wouldn’t you think the issue would be settled? Not in Hidalgo and Cameron counties which are, not surprisingly, little islands of insignificant blue in a massive red state. Lawmakers and elected officials in those two counties feel that travel trailers should be taxed as “property” and its owners forced to support the local school district for an entire year – despite the fact the childless “Winter Texans” live there only four months a year. These part-year residents can’t even vote out the clowns that are nickel and diming them.
Ironically, campground and RV park owners in those counties already pay property taxes for the sites AND the RVers who buy park models and travel trailers in Texas must pay sales tax on the units. The counties are assessing the RV owners for “improvements” to the property created by parking an RV on a site and maybe adding a deck. Hidalgo County assesses property owners 59 cents for every $100 in property value. One news report suggested the value of RVs in the county totaled $48 million. That means, the county would lose $283,200 in tax revenue if they exempted RVs from the property tax.
When you add all the taxes, fees, assessments, fines, admission charges, permits, levies and other revenue-generating “contributions” at the county’s disposal, the total Hidalgo County budget is $132.5 million. But, that’s just the county’s “general fund.” Hidalgo County has 48 other separate “funds.” My elementary math suggests that eliminating the $283,200 in revenue generated by taxing Winter Texans would amount to a budget reduction of two-tenths of one percent. In response to pleas for tax relief by RV owners, county judge J.D. Salinas wants to meet with RVers to develop a “phase out” approach to eliminating the tax so the county wouldn’t be hit “so hard” with the 0.00214 percent income reduction.
I suspect it would take a Caterpillar 579 Trailer-Mount Knuckleboom Loader to extract Judge Salinas and his associates from the public trough. Texas RVers are hotter than a jalapeño in August. They’ve drawn a line in the sand telling the counties they will go elsewhere rather than be subject to double taxation. RV owners have formed the Upper Valley Homeowners Association to lobby a third time for tax relief. They are also planning to pool their money for a massive nationwide advertising campaign to tell other RVers they aren’t welcome in those Texas counties. I suspect they’ll find a sympathetic media that will help them get as much publicity as they can.
When RV owners met with tax assessors in March to voice their objections, the government agents smugly told them the appropriate time to protest the assessment is in June, when Winter Texans are back swatting mosquitoes in their home states. By maintaining their hard-line approach to collecting $283,200 from RVers, the county stands to lose significantly more if the RVers launch a boycott. A study by the University of Texas - Pan American found that 150,000 retirees pump more than $400 million into the local economy with shopping, dining out and other spending. At an 8.25 percent sales tax rate, the state and county collect $33 million from retirees. Hidalgo County’s share alone is $10 million – 35 times above the amount collected by shaking down RVers for property taxes.
Common sense would suggest that county officials would benefit more by figuring out a way to attract additional childless big spenders who don’t commit crimes to the area. But don’t hold your breath.
The power to tax is the power to destroy. Yet, in this instance, perhaps the county will end up destroying the golden eggs deposited by golden geezers who are being forced to flock toward a more hospitable environment.
May 15th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
And you are surprised? Consider the part of the country you are talking about. Political corruption runs deep. By the way, the whole area has been traditionally blue. The South Texas town where I grew up didn’t even bother holding Republican primaries because there weren’t any officials who ran on the Republican ticket. NONE. Every single local and county politician was a Democrat. Think this was long time ago? Try 1984 (kind of ironic in a George Orwell kind of way).
The most nationally-famous example of political corruption in South Texas was in 1948 when Lyndon Baines Johnson was in a tight race with former Texas governor Coke Stevenson in a runoff election for Texas Senator. Luckily for LBJ, after a very close initial count, a recount revealed that 202 Mexican Americans (some of whom were dead or not even in the county on election day)had lined up in alphabetical order at precinct 13 in Jim Wells county and voted unanimously for LBJ.
LBJ won the race by what he jokingly referred to as an, “87-vote landslide.” He went on to become senate majority leader, vice-president, and upon JFK’s assination in — would you believe — Dallas, Texas,became President of the United States.
You think these politicians will part with their money? My bet is no.
May 11th, 2007 at 5:47 am
With all this industry activity to identify “RV Friendly” locations; maybe we should have some type of communication or web site that will list the idiots that come up with these ideas so that we can stay as far away from them as possible. The problem is that our listing of all the morons in public service who sit around coming up with these decisions will be much longer than the one listing the friendly folks. These Texans obviously flunked the “common sense” class in school.
May 9th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
Don’t waste your breath in hoping these County officials will ever make any sense. It just never stops.
Greg, you probably are aware of this somewhat related story, but here in Wisconsin, just North of Milwaukee, the Washington County Board of Supervisors voted in the fall of 2005 to provide Cabela’s Outfitters with a $4,000,000.00 tax deferment if they would locate their new store in West Bend (employing over 300 people!!).
Cabela’s agreed in less than 10 days. The massive new store was built. It has quickly become a tourist destination for sporting and camping enthusiasts, much like Bass Pro is in Springfield, Mo.
On May 8th of this year, the newly elected Board has decided to renege on the agreement the previous Board had inked with Cabela’s and NOT come through on their end of the agreement!!
They maintain the County cannot afford that type of tax abatement for private retailers and the previous Board could not speak for the new Board!! How crazy is that?
Power corrupts and these people lose sight of making any common sense!!
Good luck down in Texas, but don’t hold your breath, just go to a different location that will welcome the Winter Texans with open arms!!
May 8th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
This is obviously not the first time officials have tried to cut off their nose despite their face.
This is clearly double taxation and has been outlawed since the founding of this country. These politicians need to read history and be reminded of why we fought in the revolution.
The state needs to enforce the laws that have been passed in the legislature and put the county officials in their place. It is obvious that there is little if any support for these actions and the state has the authority to step in with already approved legislation.
I would be intersted to see the reaction of every home owner in these 2 counties if they were forced to pay sales tax when they purchased their home and then had to pay annual tax as well. I bet these home owners would feel quite a bit differently about their officials then.
If these idiots are not stopped, they will do the same thing to boats, stock trailers, pickups with shells and who knows what else. Every one of these items is parked on property at some time in these counties and could be lived in.
The residents need to look at their officials closely. And they need to look at not only the lost revenue from snow-birds sales tax, but lost tax when all able bodied residents relocate to a with reasonable tax rates.
May 8th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Greg, give me a call when you have time for what is going to be a happy ending to this story. I have been working on this for 6 years and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Clark McEwen
Executive Director
Texas RV Association
May 8th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
I agree with Ron. BOYCOT those counties.My ? is “if their not residence how can they be charged a property tax on a non permanent stucture(Trailer,MH etc.)
Those folks who camp there should send this email to the elected official and to all the campgrds telling them if they don’t put a stop to this foolishness that they will be “Movin On”.
They stand to loose,not the campers. Good luck.
Remember , there is force in numbers. Band together
Basil
May 8th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Sounds like taxation without representation to me. Didn’t the early settlers hold some kind of “tea party” out in Boston to protest this type of thievery? I support a boycot and a publicity program explaining why.
May 8th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
I do agree that over time either the retirees will pay up or get outa dodge. As with most things in life … if people put into practice what they talk about many things would change.
My guess is that like many gov’t money it all gets spent and for some reason politicians have a hard time cutting services and programs when it’s necessary.
Realistically, if you and I ran our houselholds like many local, state, and federal gov’t branches we’d have to go bankrupt.