For many years, I have written about the fact that property taxes in Montgomery County have essentially become the equivalent of a second mortgage for many homeowners. If we believe we have honest elections in the County, suffering the highest overall tax and fee burden in the region has yet to spark revolt among County voters. Would property taxes higher than your annual mortgage payment be enough to get taxpayers reaching for their proverbial torches and pitchforks? That's why I was delighted to read Chevy Chase resident Glenn Easton's letter to the editor in the rapidly-shrinking Washington Post.
Easton reported that this shocking event - the Taxological Singularity, if you will - has now taken place. "My property taxes exceed my mortgage payment and threaten my ability - and the ability of many others - to age in place in this state." He noted that the latest tax increase on his property was 13% in 2025, and have been as high as 26%. Easton has challenged assessments of his property each time, and has lost each time. Like me, Easton is "not sure why more homeowners (and voters) are not outraged."
California voters, in a very, very different era in the Golden State, led perhaps the most famous tax revolt in America since 1776. Easton called for a similar revolt and reform to that storied uprising of 1978, which led to property tax increases being capped at 2% annually.
With all County offices on the ballot once again this November, are Montgomery County taxpayers finally ready to revolt?
The County's disastrous fiscal situation indicates that change must come sooner or later, the (somewhat) easy way, or the hard way. Our tax burden must be reduced, and our master plan highway system completed, to attract high-wage jobs and corporations to the County. Montgomery County hasn't attracted a single new major corporate headquarters in over a quarter century. The only growth is in residential housing, and our structural budget deficit confirms that the costs new housing generates far exceed the tax revenue they generate.
Speaking of revenue generation, Council members have delivered multiple tax cuts to their developer sugar daddies, even as they've raised yours every single year except FY-2015 (in which the average homeowner received a whopping $12 tax cut). Perhaps inspired by the $72 million tax cut the Council delivered to developers in White Flint back in 2010, Councilmember Andrew Friedson has successfully pushed through two major tax cuts for developers in recent years. These have created massive exemptions from property taxes for projects at Metro stations and for office-to-housing conversions. The latter law is so permissive, its 20-year full property tax exemption(!!) applies to so many projects that it will blow a massive hole in County tax revenues over the next two decades. Most offensive is that these projects were going forward anyway, with the tax elimination simply an act of profiteering.
When taxes get lighter for real estate developer Friends of the Council, guess who taxes get heavier for? Yep, you the home and business owner. We can't keep shifting the tax burden to homeowners and small businesses, and we can't keep forgoing all of the lost business and commercial revenue we are losing due to our non-competitive tax burden and moribund County economy.
We also can't keep spending the way we are. Where the Council and our equally-corrupt Apple Ballot School Board are satisfied with a generously-funded school system that performs poorly, we instead need an adequately-funded school system that performs exceptionally. And an in-depth reform of profligate spending on Council-connected "non-profits" is long overdue. Many of these have organizational directors and officers who make financial contributions to Councilmember campaigns. Taxpayer money effectively ends up in the pockets of Councilmembers, and provides lucrative careers for the donors.
The tax policies of Montgomery County are eerily reminiscent of those in Bell, California. Elected officials there ultimately ended up in prison.
Taxation is theft, to begin with. Property taxes by their nature are insidious, particularly at the almost-comically-excessive level charged in Montgomery County. If you don't pay, the government takes your home. Which means that all "private property" is effectively owned by the government, and you are paying government a rent to live there.
Enough is enough. Beyond a stagnant economy, gross incompetence by elected officials, high violent crime, and failing transportation and school systems, is a property tax that exceeds your mortgage payment enough for you to act? We'll find out on Election Night 2026.
To the barricades!
"If we believe we have honest elections...."
ReplyDeleteWhat is the solution? Not baiting - real question. I am sick of this as well.
ReplyDeleteWe have to pay for those "immigrants" and welfare programs somehow. Let us put up some more speed cameras. That will help.
ReplyDeleteIt would be helpful if you could provide examples for many of your claims: 1) the apple ballot is corrupt 2) the transportation system is failing 3) the school system is failing. Additionally, your proposal to make the school system perform better on a smaller budget sounds...well...impossible. This reads like someone who no longer values the county for its strengths: schools, public transportation, and proximity to DC, but would rather see it turn into a retirement community.
ReplyDelete2:29: Parents have a litany of complaints about the school board and MCPS. Just one example of corruption - massive spending of taxpayer funds paid to a private developer for swanky new school board HQ, when the old HQ was rent-free, and the County has numerous other vacant spaces the board could meet and operate in.
DeleteOur traffic congestion is regularly ranked first or second in the nation, an ignoble honor, to be sure.
The school system's poor results in testing and juvenile delinquency are well known. Grading on extreme curves and watering down graduation requirements haven't changed the reality. Let's not gaslight.
Retirement community? That's exactly the opposite of what I'm advocating. We've already regressed into an economically moribund bedroom community for the booming job centers elsewhere in our region. Drive through Tysons on the Beltway, and you see energy, activity, and corporate logos lighting the skyline. Drive through Montgomery County on the Beltway, and you see...two retirement communities, and lots of trees. Super low energy. Guess where the action is?
Forget state taxes. We need a Federal Tax Revolt to protest how our taxes are unconstitutionally being managed by both the President and the go-along Republican Congress in the Big Ugly Bill.
ReplyDeleteWhat planet do you live on? It’s the Democrats you have to blame for high taxes. There is no tax they don’t like. Hogan left with a surplus. Moore took that surplus and put us in a deficit. Montgomery Co has been ruled by Dems for decades. All of you who vote Democrat must just love high taxes.
DeleteDo any of you remember Taxed Enough Already? The Tea Party movement? Those of us involved tried to warn you then.
ReplyDeleteI am so tired of hearing democrats complain yet vote the same way at the polls. Make up your mide do you want high taxes and democrats or lower taxes and republicans? Democrats will vote in programs that cost more every year and then have to raise taxes to cover their programs. Isn't it about time that we limited the years a person can be on welfare and how many children the can have, like say you come on with 3 and that is all you will ever get money for so spread your legs and make several more that is on you not the taxpayer. As far as the school system stop paying for every extra curricular activity. If a child wants to play sports, be in the band or cheerlead let the parent pick up the cost rather than the taxpayer. Do away with all this social engineering and teach what the child needs to get into college and a job not about gays or other social issues as that is the parents responsibility. The time has come to stop raping the taxpayer to fund every pet project or new idea. Get back to basics and stop over taxing your base!!
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering how Easton's property tax increased more than 10% per year. The homestead credit is supposed to cap that. I would like a cap at a lower rate, but it seems like details are missing. It will be interesting to watch Florida "free" itself of property taxes (and rely on sales tax and tourist-focused taxes).
ReplyDeleteI just finished figuring my SALT taxes for 2025. More than double my interest payment. I can't afford to move or stay. So incredibly frustrating for retirees who spent their whole adult lives improving and maintaining their property.
ReplyDelete"He noted that the latest tax increase on his property was 13% in 2025, and have been as high as 26%." - The homestead exemption caps increases to 10% per year. Something is missing here.
ReplyDeleteWhy do the county and state governments feel that it's okay to tax necessary living quarters (homes) while they fail to tax unnecessary possessions, such as expensive art, collections of rare coins, collections of rare baseball cards and so forth?
ReplyDelete