Esther Porter of Watkinsville wrote to the OE’s Letter to the Editor, dated April 22, 2022, should Oconee citizens over 70 receive reduction on their property taxes collected for school tax?
Porter wrote, “Senior citizens over 70 should be exempt from the school taxes, not just reduced. This county has had a large increase in citizens, and the amount of large businesses coming into our county brings in more tax revenue.
If we were a small county without a lot of to help with tax revenue, I would understand the need for all citizens to pay. It seems to me that exempting us would not put a burden on the system.”
I, as a senior citizen, agree with Porter. She forgot to mention that being a resident of Watkinsville, we not only pay Oconee County taxes and school taxes but also City of Watkinsville taxes. The city taxes are high due to the incompetent mismanagement by the City Council.
As an 81-year-old, I have been paying taxes since 1958 when I began working at the age of 16. That is 64 years of paying taxes. And I haven’t had children in school since the mid-1980s or 37 years ago. I'm now paying for my great grandchildren going to school.
I checked with the tax office, and I don’t qualify for not paying school taxes. My only help was for the homestead exemption of $15,000 deduction from their $226,000 assessment on my home. So, I’m paying taxes on $211,000.
For Watkinsville residents, the threshold for not paying county or school tax is set to their income and is so low that very few can meet it. I missed it by around $200. Age should be the criteria for not paying school taxes, not income.
Don’t you think at some point in a senior's life that enough is enough… At 81, I believe I have paid more than my fair share of school taxes. If you disagree, then just wait till you become a senior, and I know you would then rethink that position.
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