Don't prolong seniors' wait for tax relief

By SEN. MARK NORRIS, Tennessean.com
December 31, 2006


On Christmas Eve, I wondered how many low- and middle-income Tennessee senior citizens would sacrifice necessities like medication, food or maintenance just to pay property taxes next year.

For many years, I worked to make property tax relief for senior citizens a reality. I sponsored the resolution for a constitutional amendment recognizing that advancing age often makes a difference in one's ability to pay higher taxes and preserve their home. On Nov. 7, 2006, nearly 1.4 million Tennesseans agreed and voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing local governments to freeze property taxes for 65-year-old homeowners.

Now, the General Assembly has only to establish the maximum income qualifications for eligibility, and tax relief can become a reality for thousands of low- and middle-income Tennesseans who need it most. For their sake, the debate should not be divisive or prolonged.

That is, unless politicians and state bureaucrats try to gum up the works by raising unrealistic expectations or unnecessarily complicating the issue.

Those who want this to become a popularity contest will propose unrealistically high income limits. The result may then be that local governments will not participate at all, or there may be an unwarranted shift in tax burdens where local governments insist upon raising new taxes.

Bureaucrats will address problems where none exist, appearing to be helpful while hoping that tax relief never becomes a reality.

Opponents raising obstacles

The games have already begun. I filed my bill to implement tax relief for senior citizens the day after 83 percent of you demanded it. The issue for the General Assembly should be simple: the income cap. I proposed $50,000. Cities and counties should be free to establish their own programs up to that amount, depending upon their ability to do so without unnecessarily raising taxes for everyone else.

The Office of Comptroller gratuitously circulated a "white paper" raising issues which may never even need to be addressed if we leave the administration of the program to those with the greatest accountability — local governments.

I recently hosted a meeting of city and county officials in Nashville. A number of hypothetical issues were raised there, too. It became clear those issues can easily be addressed if we give local governments the freedom to do so without state interference.

When it comes to tax relief for senior citizens, one size won't fit all. Each locality has different demographics, different income and different ability to participate. Otherwise, we risk complicating matters to such an extent that tax relief may never become a reality. We must not let this happen.

The concept should be one of local determination. Each town and county needs to be able to write its own script in providing it. You need to be able to look your county commissioner or city councilman in the eye and demand tax relief in 2007.

Time is of the essence.