The Renter's Tax

Yesterday when I was talking about the Coliseum, and I proposed a renter's tax, some of the commenters rightfully objected that renters do pay the property tax on a property.  Of course they do, I get it.  A property tax is eventually passed on to renters.  Y'all are missing my point entirely.

Property taxes are voted on by the general voting public, whether or not that voter owns property.  So, for renters that don't own property, those taxes are painless for them.  Sure, they wind up paying the tax as a part of their rental cost, but they don't see it.  What I'm proposing is entirely different.

When I propose a renter's tax, that would be a tax on rentals, either set at a percentage or a flat $10.00 per month rate that is added on top of the unit rental.  What used to be a $500.00 per month rent just became a $510.00 per month rent.  Even if the renter is on rental assistance, they will notice that the cost increased, and because many of them are subsidized at a set amount, the amount would probably come out of their pockets.  This would apply to all rentals, whether residential or commercial, and it would give "skin in the game" to folks who don't often worry about property taxes.

The idea could use some tweaking, but I think that it's a great untapped source of revenue, and it wouldn't hit single family dwelling owners.  We already pay enough property taxes.  Let the renters pick up the tab for some of the stuff that they want.  It would also encourage them to become property owners, which is good for America.