I wanted to point out the discriminatory tax the property tax is. The majority of people who pay to support the county are property owners. Why do people who work hard to save the money to become home owners, be the only ones to bare this responsibility?

Then, as they age and pay off their home, the county continues to tax them to the point they must leave it because of this burden or they will take the property. Everyone that lives in this county should have that burden. This is a discrimination on the property owners that is unfair.

Services of the county are for use of all the people in the county. I think the large share is utilized by those that do not pay this tax. The property owners are paying for someone else to get those services. It is just wrong.

I want to offer at least one solution to ALL the taxes to make it fair to all. First income tax should be a flat tax. It should be a fixed amount. For example, if you earn 100 dollars you know you will owe 15.00 dollars if the tax rate is set at 15%.

The only other tax there should be is a “consumption” tax. If you spend more, you pay more. If you make less, you spend less and pay less tax. Eliminate all the other tax codes and you will have a much smaller IRS that itself is a burden on the budget.

Michael Laird

Altoona