Victoria brings up some interesting ideas, some of which I support. But, I want to know how many non-profits in Minneapolis actually own physical property. Although I don't have the figures in front of me, I am sure if we compare the tax revenue lost by tax exemptions granted by the city, faulty accounting, bad City investments, and MCDA held-land and compare that to the tax revenue lost due to non-profit tax exemptions we will find that targetting non-profits is, at best, a waste of time. Also, I'd challenge folks to compare the tax payer benefits created by the work of non-profits against the tax revenue lost by non-profits, and I bet we would find that we are saving large amounts of tax dollars because of the work of non-profits.
How about we reassess the tax breaks and gross subsidies we provide for business. I wonder how many business in downtown Minneapolis are paying no-taxes or greatly reduced taxes or are benefitting from large City subsidies. I understand that some subsidization is necessary, in a capitalistic system, to woo corporations and to encourage them to stay in downtown business centers. But, I've also seen figures, on this list and other places, that compare the level of our subsidies to the number of jobs and income created for the city, and there seems to be, more often than not, large disparities in those numbers. And, the city always seems to be on the losing end. I hope that the current city council thinks long and hard before considering any more tax incentive plans for big business in downtown (or other city locations). Actually, when the City Council balks at removing an unresponsive problematic Police Chief, I really hope they don't the nerve to create any more subsidies for big business. Millions for Target, zero for the people. Brandon Lacy Campos Powderhorn Park -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Victoria Heller Sent: Monday, July 15, 2002 9:33 AM To: Mpls Forum Subject: [Mpls] Mpls has $6 Billion of NON-TAXABLE property on the books Another idea for helping close the budget gap is to review the inventory of real estate that doesn't generate property tax revenue. Taking this one step further, I think the MCDA (from its own budget) should pay property taxes on the land that it holds - just like the rest of us. The Agency claims to be "independent and self-funded - not a City department." If we could collect property taxes on all of that land, it would really help. It would also cause the MCDA to move their inventory faster - rather than sit with dormant land for decades (Block E.) Minneapolis has also had a proliferation of "non-profits" and "religious assemblies." These entities don't pay taxes (or in some cases greatly reduced taxes.) We need to encourage businesses that actually contribute cash to the coffers. Someone with an accounting background should identify discrepancies in our property tax collections. For example: When we built Cedar Square West in 1970, we collected $3 million each year in rent and paid $1 million in annual Mpls property taxes. A couple of years ago (when I last looked) Riverside Plaza collected $10 million in rent and paid $500,000 in Mpls property taxes - 30 years later! That's not progress. Another recent discrepancy is City Center - someone convinced the City that it was worth $37.5 million back in 1987. But now it's only worth $7 million. What about the economic boom of the 1990s? Come on.....someone downtown must have some common sense. The reason we lent Brookfield the money was to get MORE taxes. Instead, we lost tons of tax money ON TOP of the bad debt from their loan default. The property tax burden has to be spread around more evenly. Mpls keeps trying to stick a shrinking number of private property owners and it won't work. Vicky Heller North Oaks Mpls property owner and taxpayer _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
