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ndrosenTo continue with the morning of Friday, July 28, 2017, after a break, we heard Joshua Vincent, the Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Economics, on "LVT Efforts from State to State."
The bad news is that we lost Altoona, Pennsylvania, which had been levying a land-on,y property tax for a few years. There was more discussion of that later. The good news is that three cities in Connecticut are allowed to do LVT (land value taxation). Connecticut is a rich state that has some of the country's poorest cities.
Hartford's struggle with parasites. It is facing bankruptcy, although it used to be one of the ten richest cities in the United States. It is in debt, with tax revenue that doesn't come close to satisfying its needs. It would take $150 million per year to pay off the debt in five years.
People from New York and Boston came to Connecticut for lower taxes. Hartford now has 20% unemployment and 125,000 people.
Drill down: Connecticut has a high average per capita income; but if you look at it by ZIP codes, some areas are rich, and some are poor. Further disparities become evident when you look at Hartford by census tract. (Josh provided appropriate graphics.)
The property tax is basically the only revenue source. There are rich suburbs, but Hartford itself is largely poor. Half of the city doesn't pay property taxes; the poor half does. The state capitol and other properties are tax exempt.
To be continued.
The bad news is that we lost Altoona, Pennsylvania, which had been levying a land-on,y property tax for a few years. There was more discussion of that later. The good news is that three cities in Connecticut are allowed to do LVT (land value taxation). Connecticut is a rich state that has some of the country's poorest cities.
Hartford's struggle with parasites. It is facing bankruptcy, although it used to be one of the ten richest cities in the United States. It is in debt, with tax revenue that doesn't come close to satisfying its needs. It would take $150 million per year to pay off the debt in five years.
People from New York and Boston came to Connecticut for lower taxes. Hartford now has 20% unemployment and 125,000 people.
Drill down: Connecticut has a high average per capita income; but if you look at it by ZIP codes, some areas are rich, and some are poor. Further disparities become evident when you look at Hartford by census tract. (Josh provided appropriate graphics.)
The property tax is basically the only revenue source. There are rich suburbs, but Hartford itself is largely poor. Half of the city doesn't pay property taxes; the poor half does. The state capitol and other properties are tax exempt.
To be continued.
