As a native North Carolinian, I've had the opportunity to experience all that our state has to offer. During my childhood, I was blessed to visit the coastlines with family, spend time with my grandparents in the mountains, and call the Piedmont home, where I experienced firsthand the agriculture community where I was fortunate to have been raised.
My family roots are founded in agriculture and date back to my great-grandparents who were tenant farmers. Fast forwarding to today finds my wife and I living on a small farm in a home built by the original owner's hands in 1924, using the timber cut from this property. In this house, a family was raised by the fruits of the land, including eggs and pork, sold at the market in downtown Raleigh. As with many things in life, change is inevitable. The dirt roads are now paved, and the volume of traffic driving past our farm today would have been what passed by in weeks. I recall cleaning out the attic after we purchased the farm and realizing that most of what I was cleaning up was dirt and dust that had accumulated over the last 92 years. Oh, how things have changed in that period!
I reflect on these times as I sit and work through an appeal of the updated valuation on our home and farm. In 8 years, the county tax appraiser has increased the value of our 100-year residence by 445%.I wonder what the appraised value was in 1924 and what the property taxes may have been. These property taxes have increased by 64% over the past 8 years, all the while substantial investments to the property have been made by removing dilapidated buildings, adding meadow strips, revitalizing the pond, and most importantly, the labor of love this small family farm needed with a new set of farmer's hands. Going deeper, I wonder how the fruits of our labor are capitalized upon by our local government to provide for the many offered services and needs of the citizens through property and sales tax. While we as citizens will pay taxes on real property that we own, we also pay sales tax on all the goods purchased; some of that now makes up our real property. Taking that a step further, the income we utilize to meet our daily needs is taxed before receiving it.
As our society grows in population density, so does our list of needs like education, nutrition, public safety, green spaces, sidewalks, and roads. In the meantime, as the list of needs grows, our legislative bodies determine the list of needs and wants based on the voice of its citizens. As the legislators set priorities and budgets based on the needs and wants of its citizens, remember they are utilizing the fruits of our labor to pay the bills. This year, I encourage you to think about your needs and wants list and who you want to manage the fruits of your labor.
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