Tennessee gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn came out in support of an effort to eliminate state property taxes.
Blackburn, who is currently one of Tennessee’s senators, said Tuesday she supports Amendment Two, which would modify the state Constitution to outlaw state property taxes.
Blackburn noted Tennessee residents are “well-served by a limited government that allows them to keep their hard-earned money.”
“This November, I hope you’ll join me in voting yes on Amendment Two to ensure that future generations don’t have to worry about the threat of a statewide property tax,” she said. “Together, let’s keep Tennessee one of the lowest taxed states in the nation and make our state America’s conservative leader!”
In 1999, Blackburn helped lead a successful effort to thwart the implementation of a state income tax by former Republican Governor Don Sundquist. In 2014, Tennesseeans passed a ballot initiative that amended the state Constitution to ban an income tax.
A recent poll from Beacon Center of Tennessee showed Blackburn ahead by 47 percentage points in her GOP gubernatorial primary race against Representative John Rose (R-TN-06).
Last week, a campaign called “YES ON 2” began to repeal Article II, Section 28 of the Tennessee Constitution.
As required by state law, the constitutional amendment proposal cleared two consecutive sessions of the Tennessee State Legislature.
At the statewide level, Gov. Bill Lee will serve as the chairman for the campaign to end Tennessee’s property taxes.
Besides Lee, the Tennessee Farm Bureau, the Tennessee Realtors, and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce will also be a part of the “YES ON 2” campaign.
Kevin Hensley, director of public policy for the Tennessee Farm Bureau, said his organization is “proud to serve on the committee for Yes on 2 to ensure that Tennesseans are able to keep more of their hard-earned money.”
Chris Garrett, president of Tennessee Realtors, noted “excessive property taxes could make the difference between a Tennessean being able to afford a home or being priced out of the market entirely.”
“We will always fight to ensure the dream of home ownership is in reach for Tennesseans,” he stated.
According to a Tennessee Farm Bureau press release, 64 percent of Tennessee voters supported eliminating state property taxes.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at [email protected].
Attach politicians security forces to DHS & ICE and see if it’s ever defunded.
Why not change our state constitution to eliminate or reduce substantially local property taxes for seniors (65+) no matter what their income situation?
PAY ATTENTION PEOPLE….she is talking about a STATE PROPERTY TAX which we currently do not even have. This campaign move has NOTHING to do with ending LOCAL property tax which is required by our state Constitution. Amendment 2 adds an amendment to our state Constitution to never allow a STATE property tax which we have never had in the first place. To end LOCAL property tax we would first again have to change our state Constitution to end LOCAL property tax.
She is supporting the elimination of STATE property tax not LOCAL property tax. Given we do not have a STATE property tax her support is just campaign rhetoric for those that are not paying attention. All Amendment 2 does is change our state Constitution to make sure they never do implement a STATE property tax. In order to get rid of LOCAL property tax we would again have to amend our state Constitution which requires a local property tax. Perhaps people need to actually read our state Constitution. But that is coming too and it is being initiated by the people not our elected. It can be done. The city of Stafford, TX has not had a local property tax since 1995 and they did it without raising sales tax but that is a viable option.
Local governments need to get back to the basics only. They should not be funding social services and any form or fashion that need to cut back on giving away our hard-earned money that we paying taxes to multi-billion dollar corporations such as Oracle or to Titan stadiums which is a waste of money and never made money the entire time it’s been here or any sports team for that fact. Tell me why does Metro need a development officer?
This is only about a state imposed property tax which was ended in, I think, 1948. The Legislature isn’t going to abolish local property taxes because… police, schools… roads… water and sewer…
What is going to replace the county income from property taxes if the bill passes?
This is a great move by a Tennessee politician. The legislature is dragging their feet because cities have continued to bankrupt local individuals by property taxes and unencumbered government growth which is leading to less efficiency. This is long overdue, especially in places like Nashville and all the surrounding communities that think they have to keep up with the Joneses. That’s what drives big governments. They think because someone else has something they have to have it too.
Property taxes are a Marxist abomination. It tells you that the state truly is the owner of your property and not you, and it can be taken away on a whim by the politicians.