WNC Rebuilding, Taxes and Civil Defense

For Lasting Recovery, Forgive Property Taxes in WNC

UPDATE: FEMA continues to fail in WNC and their suffering increases exponentially due to that reality. See details here.

Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” Luke 3:12-13

Taxes have been oppressing and stealing money from Appalachian people from the 1791 Pennsylvania Whiskey Rebellion to George Lovely the Whiskey King to the current insanity of imposing taxes on families in Western North Carolina (WNC) who have lost their homes and the land beneath their homes. Still, the government insists on getting its pound of flesh from American bones that no longer have any flesh.

Eliminating taxes on American citizens in WNC who have lost their cars, homes, and ability to work makes emanate sense as they have no way to pay them. Instead, what do our local taxing tyrants do?

Buncombe County, North Carolina, has decided not to waive or reduce property taxes for homes destroyed by Hurricane Helene, despite public outcry. Property taxes were due by midnight following the announcement. This decision has sparked criticism across social media, with figures like Shawn Hendrix organizing initiatives like Operation Shelter to assist affected homeowners in paying their taxes. Critics argue that the tax enforcement is harsh, particularly when aid from FEMA has been reported as paltry.

Matt Van Swol @matt_vanswol #BREAKING: Buncombe County NC has officially confirmed this afternoon that it will NOT be waiving or reducing property taxes for homes that no longer exist due to Hurricane Helene. Property taxes are due by midnight tonight.

Gunther Eagleman™ @GuntherEagleman19h This is f#cked up. No one should be forced to pay property tax on a home that's no longer there. Do these people have no heart?

Wall Street Apes @WallStreetApes It was just confirmed Hurricane Helene victims who lost their homes still have to pay property tax by midnight That’s INSANITY because North Carolina realtor who’s processing Hurricane victims grants shows victims who lost everything are only getting $3,500 from FEMA Some Hurricane victims are getting amounts as low as $300. It’s also been confirmed that FEMA and insurance companies are mass denying people who lost everything The state is also offering buyouts of their properties. It’s a land grab, which makes sense when explaining so many people are getting denied and are still receiving tax bills “Well I found out it's because if North Carolina buys you out of that house they get reimbursed 75% of it from FEMA Okay, so if FEMA can reimburse 75% of the buyout value and North Carolina has the money to do it right now, how come the homeowner can't have that money to stay put? Because the outcome of selling your property to North Carolina and FEMA with a local authorities blessing is that then they will finish demolishing and it will turn into green space.”

Paul A. Szypula @Bubblebathgirl North Carolina is wrongly making its residents pay full property taxes even if their homes were destroyed in the hurricane. This is atrocious!

Brad Woods @brad1984woods I love how the use "the law" as the bad guy like they can't and won't do a temporary stay of laws when they deem it necessary.......

More details here.

Counterproductive, Immoral, and Stupid Property Taxes

Imposing property taxes on Americans who have lost all their property in a catastrophic natural disaster is counterproductive, immoral, and stupid.

The recovery and rebuild after a natural event varies, but one of the most important first principals is that you do not drain money from citizens who are severely damaged with no home left and take the last of the money they have for taxes that needs to go to rebuilding their homes.

The horror of taking resources needed to rebuild homes for American elderly, children, and parents is counterproductive, immoral, and stupid on a scale only a government careerist is capable of executing.

The stream, creeks, and rivers that flooded during Hurricane Helene widened those waterways hundreds of feet on either side. Thousands of Americans lost the very property that supports their families that can even be taxed.

In the governments view, that land is now a “floodplain” and they do not want anyone rebuilding on it. Their arbitrary measurement methodologies are having disastrous results for the ability of American families terribly impacted by Hurricane Helene to begin to rebuild their lives.

Common Sense: Forgive Property Taxes in WNC

These local tax collectors who have announced this cruel property tax tyranny are enforcing short-term tax demands to the medium- and long-term harm of those families and the local economy.

As in Georgia, they must declare a property tax moratorium for all the families impacted by Hurricane Helene. The last thing they need right now is the stress of redirecting money they need to rebuild their homes to instead go to the public treasury.

Americans, and especially Appalachian Americans, are hard working, resilient, inventive, innovative, creative, God-fearing, mission oriented, loving, patriotic, independent, and family oriented.

If the WNC tax collectors will just back off, they will enable American families to recreate their communities to the level that they will be filling the local tax coffers. This will aid the recovery of these counties exponentially as a force multiplier of state wealth. That region was already becoming a tourist wonderland. Given the impact of the storm, businesses in that region can rebuild attractions around the recovery to promote an economic miracle.