I apologize. That was flip and insufficient to address the logical problems I have with your example. Here’s more of my thinking.
First of all, people who rent pay property tax; it’s just that their landlord collects rent and then pays the full amount with the tenants’ money. It doesn’t matter who signs the check; the money comes from the tenants.
Second, property tax doesn’t tax people, it taxes property. Since you said it’s farmland and not, like, a summer house, I assume you’re either farming on it, or you’re renting it to someone. Maybe leasing the mineral rights, or maybe just holding onto it until you can sell it at a profit. Either way, just like the tenant with the landlord, you’re already being made whole by the value the land generates for you.
And last, colleges and universities have the most diverse funding sources of pretty much anything I can think of. They get money from all sorts of people who will never go to that individual school and may not even know it exists, through state and federal taxes, NGOs, grants, etc. etc. Sometimes that funding just goes to support one course inside a whole university system. So yeah, like I said, it’s not one funding source in, one service out.
By the way, I personally think we should fund universal college with taxes and not charge individuals tuition at all. But as it stands, I think the situation you described is fair.
cuz it’s true. :–)