Should there be a “Tax Work-off”
By Albert B. Kelly
Recently, a friend was
talking about a book he was finishing entitled the “The Road Taken” by Henry
Petroski which is about America's infrastructure- roads, bridges, and whatever
else passes for infrastructure these days.
One snippet that caught
his attention was the mention of citizens in the early 1900’s spending time on
the streets of their towns working off whatever taxes they owed for the year. I’m
guessing that this practice largely ended years ago for any number of reasons,
but I wondered whether this idea of working off or reducing taxes owed didn’t
have value in some other ways.
In resource-poor communities,
there are many factors beyond the fiscal that add to the cycle of struggle and decline
and these include a lack of civic engagement, talent, social entrepreneurship
and other currencies traded and shared among people that are not easily
quantified; yet we know when these things are missing.
We certainly have, to be
sure, some very dedicated volunteers who work in the community through churches
and other organizations in a variety of ways, but they have their own reasons
for doing so and like all volunteer efforts, it’s a take-it-or-leave-it
proposition.
But here, we’re talking
about a formal agreement whereby citizens can, in lieu of some portion of their
tax obligation, perform some specific and necessary work in the community for
the good of the community. In exploring further, I came across a “Senior
Citizen Tax Work-off Program” in Wareham Massachusetts.
If I understand the
program correctly, it offers seniors the opportunity to contribute up to 50
hours of service to the town and receive up to a $500 reduction in their
property tax. Pay is $10 an hour- minimum wage in MA. Seniors don’t get paychecks;
instead they get vouchers to be submitted to the Tax Collector as proof of
earnings, which gets deducted from the property tax for that year.
Specific service
opportunities are outlined and the number of those who can participate is
limited- participants are selected through a lottery. In the case of Wareham,
Massachusetts, service might be in their library, police department, clerk’s
office or similar departments.
Could something like the
Wareham program work here in Bridgeton? The idea would be to match people with
specific skills and knowledge with those who would benefit from those talents.
Maybe someone can teach a specific class like English as a second Language
(ESL) or GED prep to someone in need at our library as an example.
Some might provide
tutoring in math, science or another subject while others might serve in a
community crime watch program, be gatekeepers at a venue in City Park, or
provide some other type of technical assistance to the municipality in areas
where they have knowledge or skill.
I think there’s value to
considering alternative ways of supporting a community that leverages what businesses
and citizens have in the way of experience and skill. Perhaps local businesses
might be willing to provide something of value in exchange for a reduction in
their tax obligation.
Would an attorney do pro
bono work or a CPA provide assistance to someone with their tax returns? Would
a downtown business provide manpower and resources to help make vacant store
fronts more attractive and less of an eyesore where other efforts to bring
about change have failed?
I also think about those
on the margins- those close to having their homes listed for tax sale. Might it
be possible to allow some of these folks to leverage some valuable skill or and
sweat equity to work off some of their obligations and help keep them out of
tax sale?
I’m not sure and in a
community that needs as much of a ratable base as possible, the idea of a
“work-off program” might be too much of a strain on the revenue side, so if it
happens at all, it would have to be limited. You can’t get blood from a stone,
but there might be something else of value- so maybe it’s worth consideration.
I’m open for suggestions,
thoughts- ideas. At the end of the day, we have to balance the need for revenue
with a need to think outside the box and maybe provide some different alternatives
to move our community forward. Developing a framework to tap into the latent skills
and talents of our citizens might be one place to start. We’ll have to see, but
for now…watch this space.