Rising Real Estate Taxes!

[on-ramp]

Is anyone else very angered by the current rise in real estate taxes?

we just found out our taxes for the year will go from $6,000 to $6,500 and our house is only valued at around 450K.

we're not happy

[fintstone]

That sounds about right from my experience. Seems strange that a fairly liberal fellow like yourself would complain about a tax increase. Don't you want "the children" to have good schools?

[singpilot]

Be glad you don't live in Taxachusetts. You know, John Kerry's home state.

[on-ramp]

Originally posted by singpilot
Be glad you don't live in Taxachusetts. You know, John Kerry's home state.

that's where i live, actually. lucky me

[RickM]

Our town reassessed every house a couple of years ago. The result was taxes more than doubling. Of course the municipal services seemed to suffer...go figure.

[Moneyguy1]

Folks do not believe me when I say cutting taxes at the federal level means less revenue sharing. Something has got to give somewhere.

Fint: You against good educational facilities for the kids? Just curious....

[Kevin Powers]

get used to it. it's the future. my acessment has gone up $47k in 2 years. 2 similar houses on my street sold for $63k more than my current acessment. i can hardly wait for next years taxes. one of the people considering a run for govenor in washington is raising the question of instituting a state income tax. i don't think he is serious about being elected. i believe you. can't give what isn't there.

kevin

[fintstone]

Originally posted by Moneyguy1
Folks do not believe me when I say cutting taxes at the federal level means less revenue sharing. Something has got to give somewhere.

Fint: You against good educational facilities for the kids? Just curious....

Cutting federal taxes and providing fewer federal dollars to states is exactly what needs to happen. That puts the control of local issues like school spending where they belong. In local hands.

No. I am perfectly happy with your tax district raising your property taxes as high as you like to spend more on your local schools. Just don't ask me to help. I have my own schools to worry about. The amount of money spent on schools does not seem to have any correlation to the quality of student, so I find that in most cases...much of it is money poorly spent.

[ubiquity0]

Originally posted by fintstone
The amount of money spent on schools does not seem to have any correlation to the quality of student, so I find that in most cases...much of it is money poorly spent.

That can't be right

[Moneyguy1]

I have no argument with that philosophy. The point is that in order to run the thing we call the public sector, the money has to come from somewhere. A "tax cut" at the federal level is often made up with increases at the state and local level. How do I know? I worked with the finance departments of north east cities for years, so I have considerable experience in municipial finance. The citizenry demand adequate police, fire, refuse collection, road repair, and other services they feel they must have. The soft areas, such as community developmnet, libraries and parks, while beneficial, are what get cut. With shrinking revenue streams, the "quality of life" declines from the public's point of view. That maynot bother you or others in the short run, but those elements play an important part in attracting new residents and new businesses. Cities know that. The first thing a prospective new resident scopes out is the school system, followed by public safety.

You and I both live in the Great Southwest, where things are far better from a financial standpoint than in other areas of the country. We are lucky. Others are not so fortunate. And, we do not live in a fiscal vacuum. That urban decay 'way over there' has a way of coming in our direction.

I would also agre that many school districts do not always spend their money wisely. That IS a local problem, and can be remedied at the polls, and by participation at board meetings. We got rid of an administrator here after sufficient protests by the citizentry. Accountability should and must be demanded.

In a limited fashion, I believe in redistribution of wealth. I cannot hold a child responsible for the lack of local funds to properly run a school or a basketball prigram. Without such programs, we run the risk of further generations of underachievers and they might just think that New Mexico or Arizona might just be the place to go to do their underachieving. I also believe there are individuals who, because of physical or mental limitations require assistance. They are not shirkers, they are helpless. It is easy to dismiss some of these things out of hand until you are confronted with them in your own back yard. In your end of the state, distance separates you from the problems in Deming and other border towns. How are those municipalities to cope with the demand on their services due to the influx of folks from further south without some aid and involvement from the state or the feds? I have no easy answer, all I know is we live in a very complex society and there are no simple solutions.

[tabs]

Moneyguy right on the money.

As population increases it puts a greater burden on the system...and unless the citizens are willing to shoulder that burden with increased taxes the quality of the systems product will decline....kinda like one shoe will fit all sizes....thus in the case of the school system a dumbing down of the product. So in a sense the poor that are being assimulated into our society are having the effect of dragging down our standard of living.
Look at it this way no matter how rich you are, if you drive on the street in your Limo and it hits a pothole that isn't being repaired because of resources being stretched your standard of living just went down. So everyone in a society is effected.


Thus I say put up an electric fence and put guards with a shoot to kill motto... Hate to say it but unless the USa wants to become another 3rd world country thats whats got to happen...Germany, France and GB are allready facing the consequences of unrestricted immigration.

[fintstone]

Originally posted by Moneyguy1
I have no argument with that philosophy. The point is that in order to run the thing we call the public sector, the money has to come from somewhere. A "tax cut" at the federal level is often made up with increases at the state and local level.......

That is the best reason to cut federal taxes. Local government knows best what they need and what they can do without. Federal money is perceived like some sort of gift....as opposed to money that is paid locally..and as thus, it is not usualy spent wisely. How many federal dollars a state gets is based more on how unscupulous their representatives are rather than what is needed or fair. How many municipalities would send back federal funding, if it were for something they really didn't need? Most of the time, the money is earmareked for a specific purpose, so it cannot be spent elsewhere where it is needed more. For example, a school system might have leaking roofs, but have to spend millions on unwanted sex education toys...yech! It is like when i travel with guiys at work. They stay in the fanciest hotel they can find if it is within the maximum they are allowed. The same guys stay in a fleabag hotel on vacation, because they are spending their own money. Too much federal taxes are spent on things that were never meant to be funded or controlled at the federal level.

[kumma]

Originally posted by on-ramp
Is anyone else very angered by the current rise in real estate taxes?

we just found out our taxes for the year will go from $6,000 to $6,500 and our house is only valued at around 450K.

we're not happy

look at it from the other end of the spectrum and you see how petty this statement really is. if you can afford a half million dollar home a 500 dollar a year tax increase is nothing. come on there are people living in boxes for christ sake. how much does your home go up in value each year 5% thats 20 large so do the math.

[fintstone]

Originally posted by ubiquity0
That can't be right

In education, dollars do not equate to better educated students. In states that publish statistics, areas/districts that spend more dollars per student for education are usually the ones that have the highest dropout rate, lowest SAT scores, and the fewest students that continue on to higher education. It is even more pronounced for private schools. In the state where I worked in education, most private high schools spent about half as much as public schools per student yet averaged about 400 points higher on the SAT.

[on-ramp]

Originally posted by kumma
look at it from the other end of the spectrum and you see how petty this statement really is. if you can afford a half million dollar home a 500 dollar a year tax increase is nothing. come on there are people living in boxes for christ sake. how much does your home go up in value each year 5% thats 20 large so do the math.

first of all, the bank owns the house, they just let us take out the trash. being able to "afford" a house means paying cash for it. trust me, we cant afford this house, just like the commercial, up to my eyeballs in debt.

the point is this. after income taxes, real estate taxes, water taxes, excise taxes, taxes on utilities, blah blah blah, i'm paying more 50% of my income on TAXES!

I'll gladly pay to fix roads, support emergency services, schools,etc, but do they really need more than 50% of my money for all that?

[fintstone]

Originally posted by on-ramp
the point is this. after income taxes, real estate taxes, water taxes, excise taxes, taxes on utilities, blah blah blah, i'm paying more 50% of my income on TAXES!

I'll gladly pay to fix roads, support emergency services, schools,etc, but do they really need more than 50% of my money for all that?

No. Taxes are far too high! It is more a plan for wealth distribution than a fair system to pay for the nation's/community's needs. Wait till after Nov. Depending on which way the elections go.......it is about to get a lot worse!

[tabs]

When you rent a house from the bank you are assuming RISK...that it will either appreciate or depreciate.

Wayne is right when he states that housing values are fictious. The only way to make it real is by market timing.

[Moneyguy1]

Taxes are too high...There are times, in other posts when someone would make such a blanket statement. Some posters, fint for one, might challenge and ask for verification of the statement. "Where is your proof?"

So, how does one verify the statement "taxes are too high"? What is the base from which the measurement is made?

Seriously, a statement like that must have some baseline. Granted, if one takes into account all taxes paid, income, sales, value added, property, and so on, it amounts to more than 50% of gross income for lots of people. But, consider the return on that investment: Police protection, fire protection, transportation systems, a military, just to name a few of the essentials. How much would an individual have to pay for private equivalents to these services? Only the very wealthy could have their own security staff but (except for the railroad barons of the late 19th century) would not have the wherewithall for a private transportation net or a private army. Limited redistribution of wealth is necessary to stave off class warfare. The Romans understood the principle of bread and circuses. Plain and simple. How many governments have been brought down and leaders executed when the economic situation became so lopsided it was no longer bearable? The French recolution? The Russian uprising of 1915? The masses have to at least feel there is hope, or those in the high end gated communities just might find themselves swingin by their heels. And, what replaces the system may be worse in the long run.

Do I advocate revolution? No, unless as it says in our founding father's words, the system no longer performs its function. Do I think we are at that point? Can't say. Do I think we are heading in that direction? Not important. What do you think?

Sorry, but all blanket statements are subject to challenge!!

[fintstone]

There is nothing "limited" about wealth redistribution in this country.

The big problem is that federal taxation is so large and the funds are used to do things that should be done locally. Federal monies should only be spent for those things that were called for in the Constitution...nothing else. fedal funding allows your tax dollars to be wasted on things (graft) in other parts of the country to buy votes. The very same funds would never be spent if the reperesentatives had to raise the taxes locally to do so. Imagine trying to convince local voters to pay for the "Big Dig" themselves instead of forcing others...who will probably never see it..to pay for it.