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Our small house in central Austin sits on a very large lot and the land is valued higher than the house. I kid that we should be doing something useful with all that dirt we are paying taxes on - chickens, bees, food, etc. I always compare our tax bill with my in-laws who live in a similar central neighborhood and similar size house in San Antonio. Their property taxes are less than half of ours and their city services are much better. I agree that they are too high here for what we get. Why is that?
Why is it you agree? or why is it that they are higher? They are higher because people will pay more (than in SA) for the property and will also continue to pay the tax .
Why is it you agree? or why is it that they are higher? They are higher because people will pay more (than in SA) for the property and will also continue to pay the tax .
True, we sustain the tax revenue through demand for RE in Austin moreso than say SA, but are we getting out of our city what we are putting in? With how much we pay, how come I don't don't see more cops?, why are 1/4 of the trees in Zilker and Pease parks dead - yet we can't seem to find the budget to prune them?, why are the medians overgrown?, why all the garbage in Town Lake, etc?, When you look at the cumulative value of housing and associated taxes in Austin, are we really getting what we are putting in? If so, why do we still have tollroads? I paid 5K in property tax last year, but I can't justify what it's bought for me considering the services rendered.
Our small house in central Austin sits on a very large lot and the land is valued higher than the house. I kid that we should be doing something useful with all that dirt we are paying taxes on - chickens, bees, food, etc. I always compare our tax bill with my in-laws who live in a similar central neighborhood and similar size house in San Antonio. Their property taxes are less than half of ours and their city services are much better. I agree that they are too high here for what we get. Why is that?
I am curious how you are judging the city services differences. What is better in San Antonio?
As for the difference in property taxes - I assume the San Antonio property is worth less so the the tax bill is less. I don't think tax rates per se in SA are much different from Austin's.
When comparing tax rates related to city services - one should also be sure to exclude the ISD taxes. All the other taxes might have something to do with city services.
True, we sustain the tax revenue through demand for RE in Austin moreso than say SA, but are we getting out of our city what we are putting in?
What government agency EVER gives you back value equivalent to what you paid in taxes? None. Although it's interesting to note that Austin's property tax rates are lower than many of the suburbs -- a fact that seems to escape many people. You hear people say they want to live in one of the burbs for the "cheaper taxes"... well, of course it's cheaper -- but because they are buying a $150K house in the burbs instead of a $300K one in Austin.
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Originally Posted by jobert
With how much we pay, how come I don't don't see more cops?,
Compared to other cities I've lived, I think Austin has a much more significant police presence. I see them everywhere. How many "no-refusal" weekends/days have we already had just this year? That probably means lots of overtime, paying a judge, paying a phlebotomist. And what about 6th street? I'm not saying they are keeping it safe, but there is a huge police presence there. Not to mention all the extra cops during festivals like Mardi Gras, SXSW, Halloween, New Years, ACL, Pecan Street, etc... Austin has more than it's share of street festivals, and those all require extra cops. Plus all those runs, rides, triathlons, etc that happen inside the city limits. Those all have a significant police presence (closing roads, etc).
I think we have quite a police presence indeed.
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why are 1/4 of the trees in Zilker and Pease parks dead - yet we can't seem to find the budget to prune them?,
That's an exaggeration of course, I'm regularly around Zilker and I remember noticing just how few trees had actually died because of the drought. Heck, they are cutting down the healthy ones!
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why are the medians overgrown?, why all the garbage in Town Lake, etc?,
Yeah, those are pet peeves of mine. We can definitely do better with that. Although the medians are pretty typical for Texas cities.
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If so, why do we still have tollroads?
How many of those are actually in the city? For someone living in the city of Austin, toll roads are just something you hear about. You don't need to ever take them to get around.
That's the real travesty IMO -- that people in the burbs might not only pay a higher tax rate, but also get taxed again because they have to use the toll roads.
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I paid 5K in property tax last year, but I can't justify what it's bought for me considering the services rendered.
Eh, again, when in life are taxes EVER paid back in an equivalent amount of value? There is always too much waste. But that's not an Austin thing at all.
Something needs to change about the way assessed values are determined in Travis County. The assesor seems to set an arbitrarily high value with annual increases irrespective of local market conditions. It is up to the homeowner to either divulge what they paid for it or do extensive research about comparables in their neighborhood. That shouldn't be their responsibility. Non-disclosure doesn't work for the little guy.
We pay $40/1K of house value in upstate ny (so ~12K on a 280K house). How's that for high taxes? And we pay high income tax AND we pay high sales tax AND we pay astronomical gas tax AND (not a smoker) cigarettes are $7 a pack. Texas has it really good.
I'm in the boondocks, by the way... not even in a real city.
Toll Roads have nothing to do with property taxes. The federal and state gas taxes were last adjusted almost 20 years ago, hence (almost)20 years of inflation have eroded the buying power of your $0.38/gallon tax.
Another thing and this is just an example but........A married couple in Hyde Park with no kids on a $400,000 house contributes almost $5,000/year to AISD while a married couple in Dove Springs with 4 kids will contribute about a third of that amount. As far as the single guy with the $750k downtown condo the disproportionality of the cost/benefit ratio is even more pronounced. Now I know why its a good idea to make parents pay for non-educational extracurricular activities at school.
True, we sustain the tax revenue through demand for RE in Austin moreso than say SA, but are we getting out of our city what we are putting in? With how much we pay, how come I don't don't see more cops?, why are 1/4 of the trees in Zilker and Pease parks dead - yet we can't seem to find the budget to prune them?, why are the medians overgrown?, why all the garbage in Town Lake, etc?, When you look at the cumulative value of housing and associated taxes in Austin, are we really getting what we are putting in? If so, why do we still have tollroads? I paid 5K in property tax last year, but I can't justify what it's bought for me considering the services rendered.
You get to pay for the roads and services the rich landowners and corporations in Texas use. The rich landowners dont pay any property tax and in fact get money back due to farm/ranch subsidies and a million loopholes. Corporations get free land, cozy property tax deals, and decade long tax abatements. The rich in general, well lets just say that finding ways not to pay taxes is their hobby, sport, and inspiration in life all rolled into one. My lawyer brother who gets paid 200k a year to find the rich ways out of paying taxes could attest to that.
Its one of those truisms in life, the more someone screams like a stuck pig about something and points fingers. The more likely they are doing exactly what they're pointing fingers over. The more Republicans point fingers and howl about 'redistribution' the more it should become evident to people that is exactly what they're doing.
If it feels like you're getting robbed, you are getting robbed. And how your average middle class homeowner in Texas doesnt feel like they're getting robbed is beyond me. Especially if they dont have children.
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