Why are taxes so high in Columbus? (Jackson, Jacksonville: best cities, 2014)

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Zen_master

Ohio is on the list of high-income tax states with the top marginal tax rate nearly six percent (well, prior to Kasich's tax reform). However, the sales taxes in Ohio are not that bad despite their being both a county component and state component to the tax, when compared to areas like Chicago where the sales tax is double digits. What irks me is the excessive level of property taxation in Central Ohio specifically. I outline in the post/thread below how a bigger home, with more acreage, with a higher assessed value and in one of the top communities in Ohio still has lower property taxes than lesser homes in Central Ohio.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/32448588-post71.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/colum...olumbus-8.html

But in your example, you'd still end up paying more long-term with that house in Cincinnati.

[Meemur]

I got taxed out of Columbus. I sold my tiny house in Beechwold and bought a small house in Des Moines. I've almost doubled my paycheck with that move.

Ohio has just gotten nuts. Too much welfare!

[Zen_master]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

But in your example, you'd still end up paying more long-term with that house in Cincinnati.

mortgage, etc. perhaps...depends how long you stayed in the home or the home stayed in the family (for the record the SW Ohio home sold for $587,500). That's the problem with property taxes, they eat away at the corpus as opposed to something like cap gains taxes which only reduce the gains. The point of the example was to show the extreme disparity in property tax rates by illustrating you can find a home outside of Central Ohio that is superior in practically every way and still pay lower taxes. And for a kicker, the example is not some far off land. It's simply 100 miles Southeast down I-71 in the same state.

[lipbalm]

Originally Posted by Meemur

I got taxed out of Columbus. I sold my tiny house in Beechwold and bought a small house in Des Moines. I've almost doubled my paycheck with that move.

Ohio has just gotten nuts. Too much welfare!

How can you live in a place with high taxes and $hi**y weather? Wow! I keep telling my cousin to get the hell out of there and move on down to Houston with me. God bless Texas.

[chet_kinkaid]

why some choose ohio?some may like the change in seasons,diversity of forest etc..having spent alot of time in texas..houston is probabaly one of the most miserable large cities,horrible humidity etc..dallas is alot better imo!

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by lipbalm

How can you live in a place with high taxes and $hi**y weather? Wow! I keep telling my cousin to get the hell out of there and move on down to Houston with me. God bless Texas.

Yeah, Ohio has terrible weather. I'd much rather live in 100 degree heat.

If I ever move to Houston, please kill me, fellow board members.

[Man About Town]

Originally Posted by lipbalm

How can you live in a place with high taxes and $hi**y weather? Wow! I keep telling my cousin to get the hell out of there and move on down to Houston with me. God bless Texas.

I don't know about that. Houston's been having some pretty $hi**y weather so far. And don't get me started on that infamous East Texas humidity. Or the traffic on I-10 & I-45.

[bam989863]

I lived in Houston for about 4.5 years before moving to Columbus. There was no state income tax in Texas which was nice but we paid over 10k in property taxes, same priced house in Dublin where we currently live we pay under 5k. Our car insurance dropped by over 900 dollars. We were spending 40-50 bucks a month on toll roads in Houston, we pay zero here for toll roads. Our homeowners insurance is also much cheaper here. Cost of living wise their is really no difference between here and Houston, Texas. The weather is a matter of preference. Does one prefer to stay inside during the summer or during the winter? In Houston our neighborhood was a ghost town all summer because people huddled in the AC and in Columbus people stay inside in their warm houses all winter. My wife and I are a near perfect comparison for cost of living because we literally make the same total income as we did in Houston. She got a promotion and a raise to move to Ohio State and I took a bit of a pay cut in my job. But our combined salary is within a thousand dollars of what we made in Houston. I like both places and could live happily in either but I give a slight edge to Columbus because their is less traffic and the fall weather is the best weather I have ever experienced. I also love the people here and how much community pride their is in each neighborhood and suburb.

[Fletchman]

Originally Posted by bam989863

In Houston our neighborhood was a ghost town all summer because people huddled in the AC and in Columbus people stay inside in their warm houses all winter.

Same holds true in Florida. I'd rather enjoy the summer. There is also community pride here in Ohio, something I never experienced living in Florida.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Meemur

I got taxed out of Columbus. I sold my tiny house in Beechwold and bought a small house in Des Moines. I've almost doubled my paycheck with that move.

Ohio has just gotten nuts. Too much welfare!

It's obviously going to vary by individual circumstances, but again, how can 37 states be more expensive to live in generally, but Ohio is nuts?