UA-9726592-1

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

North Dakota Primary: State Rejects Property Tax Repeal, Religious Freedom Proposal (UPDATE)



The defeats are a blow to conservative leaders, who had hoped North Dakota would become the first state to repeal property taxes and the 28th to implement a religious freedom law. Both proposals attracted strong opposition from moderate and progressive groups statewide, with fears that the religious freedom proposal could legalize child abuse, domestic violence, ritual animal sacrifice and the marriage of 12-year-old girls."
Property taxes are regressive but the basis of most municipal taxes. Repealing property tax would have destroyed municipal government. 
North Dakota also has a state income tax that would have had to be dramatically increased to counter the loss of tax revenues. 
The defeated amendment read: 
This initiated constitutional measure would amend sections 1, 4, 14, 15, and 16 of Article X of the North Dakota Constitution and repeal sections 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of that same article, eliminating property taxes, poll taxes, and acreage taxes, effective January 1, 2012. The measure would require the Legislative Assembly to replace lost revenue to cities, counties, townships, school districts, and other political subdivisions with allocations of various state-level taxes and other revenues, without restrictions on how these revenues may be spent by the political subdivisions.


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