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You're correct cortlandgirl, that's what I meant to say, thanks for clarifying it.
And Pgserge, not sure what you are talking about, here is a link to Cleveland's (CCA) tax website showing the 2% and as you'll see, the surrounding suburbs also tax their residents. The credit is for if you work in one city and live in another i.e. you live in Warrensville Hts. and work in Cleveland, you'd pay 2% to Cleveland and 1% (after the credit) to Warrensville Hts.
There are some smaller cities that are less as you can see, but most of the major cities in NE Ohio (Cleveland, Akron, Youngstown, Canton) tax at 2% or higher.
Don't forget though, that if you pay income tax for the city where you live and a different city where you work, there is a refund from the one where you work!
Geauga County has no city income tax.
Yes, city income tax stinks....I am not going to argue with you. Most midwest cities do. Chicago gets you coming and going. Truthfully, while Cleveland has things it definitely needs to improve, there are things that are there which are not in FL (where they don't take that tax money...thus NO PROGRAMS). We don't have public transportation that is worth a d***, nor do we have orchestras or massive park systems. We have crap schools, very few community resources (there is one autism center within Charlotte, Sarasota, Lee and Collier Counties..I don't need it, but I'm sure people would like those kinds of services where they live), we have underpaid fire, police and teachers so we can't keep them or get good ones. Oh, and b/c we don't pay those taxes, we can't even afford to keep the teaches we have in this economy, so Lee County is laying off 10% of their teaching staff!
Taxes are horrifying, but no one gets things for free in this country. FL used to try what NC does and take money for personal property tax. We don't do that any longer.
Also, I will most likely be living in Shaker, and they don't charge 2%. I work from home, so I'll pay .0175 per 1000 earned. Close to 2%. Some cities only charge .004, .0075 etc. Your figures are correct if you work in Cleveland. Don't forget the refund though.
Don't forget though, that if you pay income tax for the city where you live and a different city where you work, there is a refund from the one where you work!
Geauga County has no city income tax.
Yes, city income tax stinks....I am not going to argue with you. Most midwest cities do. Chicago gets you coming and going. Truthfully, while Cleveland has things it definitely needs to improve, there are things that are there which are not in FL (where they don't take that tax money...thus NO PROGRAMS). We don't have public transportation that is worth a d***, nor do we have orchestras or massive park systems. We have crap schools, very few community resources (there is one autism center within Charlotte, Sarasota, Lee and Collier Counties..I don't need it, but I'm sure people would like those kinds of services where they live), we have underpaid fire, police and teachers so we can't keep them or get good ones. Oh, and b/c we don't pay those taxes, we can't even afford to keep the teaches we have in this economy, so Lee County is laying off 10% of their teaching staff!
Taxes are horrifying, but no one gets things for free in this country. FL used to try what NC does and take money for personal property tax. We don't do that any longer.
Also, I will most likely be living in Shaker, and they don't charge 2%. I work from home, so I'll pay .0175 per 1000 earned. Close to 2%. Some cities only charge .004, .0075 etc. Your figures are correct if you work in Cleveland. Don't forget the refund though.
I don't think you get a full refund, that was my point w/the credit. You get 1% off your tax, but you still have to pay the remaining 1% if the tax is 2% in your city. A lot of cities did away w/this in the past decade b/c they couldn't work together and share the taxes of residents who worked in another city.
I don't think you get a full refund, that was my point w/the credit. You get 1% off your tax, but you still have to pay the remaining 1% if the tax is 2% in your city. A lot of cities did away w/this in the past decade b/c they couldn't work together and share the taxes of residents who worked in another city.
Correct. Luckily, I work from home. If I want to spend more on a home I could live in Geauga County tax free (aside from income tax) so it's all relative in my mind, as I'd like the mortgage to be lower. I always get a refund (and am now a mom, so I'll probably still get one) I work and get paid by a NY company, so there might be a loophole b/c I work from home, but who knows!
No fun with the taxes, but still a great place to live IMO.
One other thing I forgot about. Here in FL (not sure about SC, but I know NC has them and GA) we have CDD fees. I lived in a neighborhood in Jacksonville where the CDD fees were 2000 per year and could potentially go up. (CDD is community development dues). If you lived in a condo in there you paid 200 per month HOA, and 200 per month CDD. So, even though FL doesn't charge city tax (income tax at all for that matter) you still have those charges on top of mortgage payments. Any gated community or "subdivision" here in FT Myers charges them too. My mother's condo association fees are 1100 per quarter! Thus, no matter how you slice it, unless you live in an unrestricted part of a county/city, they are going to get you somehow. (CDDs are line items on tax bills, but I do understand that HOAs are not) NC charges state income, personal property tax and CDD fees. Thus, it can all be relative in the grand scheme of things for most people.
This has obviously become a bash Cleveland thread. Yes, Ohio has income tax, and so does 85% of the US. There are only a couple of states that do not. States like NC also charge personal property tax on top of city income and state income, but it hasn't stopped people from thinking it's a nice city to live in. Check out "Charlotte propers numbers on gang violence etc" To the poster who is all about showing the numbers for the city of Cleveland proper (please remember that statistics are never black and white) I'm not going to get into a long discussion with you, but when the original post is regarding staying or leaving the area they are NOT referring to the inner city of Cleveland, and the fact that it has nice suburbs IS a draw for a lot of people. When I said that people aren't living in Cleveland "proper" I meant the majority of the people you are antigonizing on this board!!!!!!!! I'm not ignorant to the fact that people live there. Most inner cities (aside from those built around it like NYC, Chicago, San Fran etc) have high poverty rates, low median income rates, low housing cost, high foreclosure numbers. My point was that you are hounding Cleveland area residents about the negative numbers of the downtown area, and no one who lives in Cleveland denies that the "city" itself needs to get it's act together. There IS A LOT of untapped potential. People aren't drawn to live in the Cleveland area b/c of the downtown area. Please either move there, or at least have lived there before you start smashing our city. I think you live in AZ? (not you, but the previous poster)
I am coming back to Cleveland b/c the school system my son will go to has a 90% graduation/college attendance rate. I'm not going to make my decision based on inner city school data! Lastly, you gave stats on Cuyahoga County in some of your numbers~ uh, that is NOT a Cleveland stat according to you. I also gave you the numbers in my post. Point being...you can make anywhere look great or horrible based on stats. Look beyond some of them to make an informed decision. However, you are probably on your porch in AZ just creating debate.
What you call bashing, I call a reality check.
Numbers are black and white, on the other hand opinions are not.
Apparently the only "people" that I am "antagonizing" is you.
Please stop making assumptions. I have lived in Cleveland for over a quarter of a century. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to get the heck out of dodge.
Why don't you move to the city of Cleveland instead of a cushy burb and tell me how great it is.
Numbers are black and white, on the other hand opinions are not.
Apparently the only "people" that I am "antagonizing" is you.
Please stop making assumptions. I have lived in Cleveland for over a quarter of a century. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to get the heck out of dodge.
Why don't you move to the city of Cleveland instead of a cushy burb and tell me how great it is.
This is going nowhere. Your final comment implies that someone should live somewhere they don't want to to prove your point. Cleveland to me is the entire area..I'm not going to move to the inner city to satisfy your need to bash it! I'm glad you left if you were unhappy. I find it strange that you would be back on here grinding your axe if you are sooooo happy where you are. Would you not just go about your new life?
I live in the inner city, and I do feel it's great. Tons of great restaurants, close to all the sporting arenas, institutions, museums. Also the people are more genuine in the inner city, and there is great diversity. I can walk to a cofee shop, tons of restaurants, boutique shops, grocery stores, Rite Aid, my doctor. I don't have kids yet but there are school options. What I save in property tax I could send my kid to a private school. I'm married and will be having kids soon and plan on sending them to the urban community school, supposed to be very good. I love when my car is stuck in the snow, like yesterday, all the neighbors help out, I never had that in the burbs. I know tons of my neighbors, and because it is an urban environment, with crime, people look out for each other and watch each others backs.
I find it strange that you would be back on here grinding your axe if you are sooooo happy where you are. Would you not just go about your new life?
I made this point earlier in this thread about why people who have left speak so highly of the area:
Quote:
Originally Posted by JR_C
Those who were gone and have come back are just sharing their experience. This might help someone save the trouble of finding out for themselves.
But, it goes the other way, too. I may disagree with some of xwideopenskyx's opinions, but the same logic applies. Others might decide that they don't want to move here based on what xwideopenskyx has to say, and the reasoning he/she uses to form their opinion.
One other thing I forgot about. Here in FL (not sure about SC, but I know NC has them and GA) we have CDD fees. I lived in a neighborhood in Jacksonville where the CDD fees were 2000 per year and could potentially go up. (CDD is community development dues). If you lived in a condo in there you paid 200 per month HOA, and 200 per month CDD. So, even though FL doesn't charge city tax (income tax at all for that matter) you still have those charges on top of mortgage payments. Any gated community or "subdivision" here in FT Myers charges them too. My mother's condo association fees are 1100 per quarter! Thus, no matter how you slice it, unless you live in an unrestricted part of a county/city, they are going to get you somehow. (CDDs are line items on tax bills, but I do understand that HOAs are not) NC charges state income, personal property tax and CDD fees. Thus, it can all be relative in the grand scheme of things for most people.
Most newer developments do charge HOA or CDD fees as you call them here in Columbia. However, there are plenty of places that you can choose to live where they aren't a part of living in the house. And our's are not nearly that much - around $300/year, and that includes a community pool as well as a pond w/a walking trail around it. Plus they take care of the landscaping around those areas as well as the entrances to the neighborhood.
I made this point earlier in this thread about why people who have left speak so highly of the area:
But, it goes the other way, too. I may disagree with some of xwideopenskyx's opinions, but the same logic applies. Others might decide that they don't want to move here based on what xwideopenskyx has to say, and the reasoning he/she uses to form their opinion.
I don't disagree with you, but xwideopenskyx wasn't informing people. It was an attempt to antagonize. If xwideopenskyx was merely giving data it would have been given, and point made. Instead it was constantly "show me, prove to me, don't you have data, com'on com'on" Very different from someone offering a statistical negative view of the area. xwideopenskyx was in Cleve for nearly quarter of a century (25 years) My guess is that those 25 years (or close to 25 years) were the first 25 years of xwideopenskyx's life. I can sense a certain "thank God I'm grown up and not there anymore" attitude that you wouldn't necessarily get from someone who might have been there for the middle 25 years of their life. Those people tend to be more rational regarding an area ESPECIALLY if they were consciously spending 25 years there, and not forced to b/c they were underage and not able to move out on their own and leave. I'm not ignorant to think Cleveland is a utopia at all. I just think there are more mature ways to debate the subject. I also believe that it takes a certain maturity to analyze data and not take it at a black and white numbers perspective.
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Lastly, you gave stats on Cuyahoga County in some of your numbers~ uh, that is NOT a Cleveland stat according to you. I also gave you the numbers in my post. Point being...you can make anywhere look great or horrible based on stats. Look beyond some of them to make an informed decision. However, you are probably on your porch in AZ just creating debate.
