What’s fair?
Democratic Senators are questioning whether someone who is delinquent on property taxes should get an income tax return. Lisa Fleisher writes:
Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) questioned the wording of the proposed bill, saying it was unclear whether the bill would allow municipalities to collect money before delinquent child support payments. She and other senators in the Senate budget committee this morning also said it would be inhumane and unfair to people who were counting on the refunds to pay essential bills while they were unemployed.
I don’t know about “inhumane.” That seems like overkill. Plus, I’m not sure how many people actually wait on their once-per-year income tax return to pay “essential” bills. Furthermore, I’m not sure a person’s property tax bill isn’t essential. How does it help someone who is unemployed to throw a tax lien on their home that prevents them from selling it and getting out from under a mortgage?
Honestly, if you are waiting on your income tax return to be solvent, then your life is in tatters anyway. I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just being realistic. One little tax return is not going to keep you off of foodstamps or keep that credit card from going delinquent. At most, it will put it off for a month or two.
I agree with ensuring that child support gets paid first. In fact, I find it hard to believe that such a common-sense measure hasn’t been implemented yet. But I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn’t say that they have a better use for their income tax return than paying their delinquent property taxes.
Sphere: Related Content
Leave a Reply