Fair taxes

Rogue Pundit carries an interesting in-depth review of taxes in Josephine County, Oregon. The writer notes:

“Josephine County currently has the lowest permanent tax base in the state, $0.5862 per $1,000 of assessed value. The [proposed May] levy would more than quadruple the base for the next three years, to $2.496 per $1,000. Of course, we pay more than just the base amount.”

“Speaking as a rural county resident, my property taxes for this budget year were about $6.483 per $1,000 (not including the early payment discount). Eighty percent of my property taxes went to schools: Three Rivers School District, Rogue Community College, and the Southern Oregon Education Service District. The remainder went to the county, 4-H, special assessments for forestry (for fire–I have timber acreage), and a county bond levy.”

In contrast, the average compressed tax rate for Portland in 1998-99 (a site I found easily – if someone wants to give me the latest numbers, please do) was $18.82 per thousand. In Dallas, Oregon (population 12,495), a recent number for average tax rate per thousand was $14.16; Silverton, $15.56; Pendleton $15.39; Albany, $16.44; Burns $13.88; Central Point $12.43; and Medford (Oregon’s sixth-largest city) $12.37 per thousand.

Across the Metro three-county area, the rates breakdown is:

Average School rate . . . . . . . .$6.82
Average Non-School Rate . . . . $12.57
Average City Rate . . . . . . . . . $6.83

Rogue Pundit notes 80% of his property taxes went to schools. But statewide, property taxes aren’t the main source of school funding – income taxes are. Some estimates say 40% of Multnomah County residents’ taxes go to fund schools and other services in other parts of the state. Prior to Measure 5, 70% of school finding came from local property taxes. Now, 70% comes from the state, with 87% of the General Fund raised through personal income taxes. The major portion of property taxes now is supposed to fund amenities and local government services other than schools (Measure 5’s limits are $5 per thousand for schools, $10 for other services, with some allowances to go slightly over the limits) – which makes the 20%-of-$6/thousand Rogue Pundit says is allocated to local government services in his area seem even more paltry and inadequate.

Which all makes me wonder. Yes, the federal government should compensate rural areas for the impact of not logging forests that should provide clean air and oxygen for the nation and world. And yes, rural areas have fewer services than urban ones, and therefore their property taxes should be lower. But shouldn’t there be more statewide equity between the levels (rates per thousand) of property taxes residents in Medford pay, compared with people in Portland? And shouldn’t county residents outside of cities be expected to contribute a tad more to the urban services available to them, such as libraries, the statewide criminal justice and mental health systems, and schools?