Guest View: Middletown's tax system is broken but is the horse out of the barn

The current tax system in Middletown is broken, it’s not predictable and you should have predictability of your taxes on your property. In most cases, the resident’s real estate is their number one asset and the primary roof over their heads where they live or work.

The current tax system affects the middle class and the senior population negatively. It has and can force people to make hard decisions and may force them out of their residences.

The current system is not fair to young families and the local workforce. There should be reasonable and fair taxes based on what the town needs, (average 2%/year), not having taxes determined by who moves in next door and driving up property prices and increasing some residents taxes 30%-50% in 3 years. (Not including the bond.)

The current tax system fuels the need for more affordable housing and homelessness services. When you raise taxes on landlord’s tenants, rents will go up and become more unaffordable for the middle class and seniors.

The current tax system has many holes in it, and its results are inconclusive and should not be used to determine how much money someone pays in taxes each year. The current tax system determines the amount someone is going to pay in taxes by the “perceived value” of someone’s property The residents whose taxes go up are “losers” and the residents whose taxes go down are “winners”, interesting. This system is used to pick winners and losers and which residents are more paper rich than other residents. We shift the tax burden to the residents whose properties increased more than others and the system assumes they should have enough money to pay the taxes. If we don’t assume that they can pay, we may have just forced them out of their residence.

Residents of Middletown should not have to worry about who moves in or builds next door, and how it’s going to affect their taxes. I feel most people want to pay their fair share and not worry about being forced out of their homes. Many residents are asking “How much longer can I afford to live in Middletown”. Our tax system should support affordable living and predictable planning, where everyone pays their fair share. We need a better tax methodology that aligns with our community goals and comprehensive plan. If you want a transitional population as a community keep your current tax system. If you want a community of residents who can put down roots, plan and predict their future, and raise a family in Middletown, you need to change the current outdated and broken tax system.

People need to recognize that the current tax system is broken before they do something to make it better. If you believe the current property tax system is broken, unfair, confusing, and not transparent or predictable, then ask your local and state politicians to do something about tax reform. Unfortunately, the horse might be out of the barn and Middletown might be too far down the road to turn back.

Dennis Turano is a member of the Middletown Town Council.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Middletown's tax system is broken: Guest View