Change in DE school property tax releif for 65+ (new house, transfer)

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by synthnut

That's a pretty interesting law .......It sounds to me like it's targeting new residents that are leaving where they are , to finally get a fair shake tax wise ...... I'm from NY , and this sounds like the politics are following me down to DE ....????.....Jim

I couldn't agree with you more, and this seems fair to me. Reduction of school taxes has been a gift to us all, at age 65 years. It's a known fact that Delaware is known as a "cheap" state for retirees moving from elsewhere, in more ways than one. That seems to be the primary reason everybody's moving here. A possible solution for newcomers is - to move here at age 62, then when they're 65 years old they can get that reduction also, like we natives do....We also have to wait until we're 65. That way, they will have paid "regular" school tax bills for 3 years. Hmmmm.....I've been paying them for 51 years.

Even after all that thinking....what are we talking about in dollars? Peanuts.....Unless one is buying a McMansion on the bay or ocean.

[synthnut]

" what are we talking about in dollars? Peanuts"

That's the way it all started in NY !!!.....Then they took the Elephant, and after that they took the Circus , and after that they took the .........You get my point ....... Givem and inch and they take a mile !!..... ......Jim

I got a big kick out of President Obama saying that he wants to have the rich pay more in taxes ...... All the poiticians in the Senate and the House of Representatives are RICH !!!....and so are the people that pull their strings !!.....Do you REALLY think they will make the rich pay their fair share ? ...... These law makers will continue to take from the middle class to keep us in our places ..... Sorry for the rant .....I'm just tired of new rules and regulations and laws that just make it that one step harder to retire after so many years of hard work .... Lucky me ....I'm only 61, and have time to put 3 yrs in before I get my School Tax break .... ...... There IS hope after all !!.....Jim

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by synthnut

" what are we talking about in dollars? Peanuts"

That's the way it all started in NY !!!.....Then they took the Elephant, and after that they took the Circus , and after that they took the .........You get my point ....... Givem and inch and they take a mile !!..... ......Jim

I guess it's all relative.....
My original Kent County Tax bill is $440.80 per year, on a mid priced property, assessed (not appraised at) $24,300 in the C.R. Sch. District with a tax rate of $1.7152 per $100 of assessed value. My 65+ school tax credit is a great discount for me, at $151.27. So my final 2012 Kent County tax bill is $289.53/year, instead of $440.80. I'm guessing that's "peanuts" compared to New York taxes. It's human nature. When it's cheap, people want it cheaper.

[nuts2uiam]

We close in Jan and hope to have the relo accomplished by the spring. Still have to sell our house but when you fid what you have been looking for, you don't pass it up. Now read and weep.

I live on L.I. I have a simple cape house 1500 square feet on 60 x 100. My taxes are $10,066 per year with the school portion being just over $6,000!!! We have supported the school system although we were not blessed with kids ourselves. We are younger retirees so we will be in De. for more than the 3 years necessary so we are OK and by the way, I think that is a fair law.

[jtees4]

I am a NY'er still waiting to move to DE. It sounds like a realistic and fair change to me.

[synthnut]

Actually in the grand scheme of things, I am grateful that there is a school tax relief in place in Delaware .... Living in NY , one is THRILLED to have ANY tax relief at all .... Well over $10,000 a year is pretty much the norm for School , Property, and town taxes here in NY ..... It will be nice to FINALLY be able to afford to live again ...... .....Jim

[rdlr]

In all my wildest dreams, I couldn't imagine paying real estate taxes in the thousands!

It's very mysterious to me, though......Why do people in other states pay those real estate taxes their entire life, and when they are ready to retire, they decide to move to Delaware? How did you afford it all of those years? Maybe it's job related, but the more you make, the more you pay in income taxes, and (keeping with this thread) you have that horrible real estate tax bill to pay every single year.

Having been in Delaware since birth (72 years) we've made out just fine financially, and haven't had to be a slave to real estate taxes. Our children were educated well and have prestigious, well paying jobs. All of these years, we've benefited from life in Delaware. Thank goodness I was born here! But, if I wasn't, I'd sure move here as soon as I saw one of those high real estate tax bills!

[synthnut]

rdlr,
As I'm sure happened to you , LIFE happened to many of us here in NY .....You become a product of your environment ...We work here , and we raise a family here .....The problem that we face here in NY is the fact that many of us, once we retire , can NOT afford to lve where we have paid taxes all our lives and raised our children ....Our children are now here , with our grandshildren, and it's tough to leave that behind , so we bite the bullet and pay our last dime to the government for the right to live here with no benefit to us other than to be close to our families ....

.. As part of the middle class , the working class pays for all the programs that NY has ...Last I heard , there are over 100 "hand out " programs that our tax money supports ....The next closest state with "hand out " programs is California and they have about 50 such programs...These are just a few of the reasons why NY and California are BROKE even with the sky high taxes !!... .......Many welfare clients , and religious organizations, and many other groups that can get in on the free ride here in NY , come here in droves to get in on the "hand out " programs .... Enough is enough !!!.....Jim

BTW ...I am truely happy for you that you have had a good life in DE , and happy that you have had the opportunity to raise your family , and remain where you are without the threat of having to move due to an extremely FAT government ....Be thankful every day that you are truely blessed .....Sincerely, Jim

[rdlr]

Thanks for the explanation, synthnut......I can certainly understand family ties.

If and when you come to live in Delaware, it will be quite a shock to you! We have VERY small government. When the politicians vote in ways we are not happy, we tell them so to their face the next time we see them walking or riding in a local parade. One-on-One here - Politicians are very accessible in Delaware. We even get birthday cards from them!

[nuts2uiam]

RDR,
SYNTHNUT took the words right out of my mouth. I will also add that the job market for my DH has been declining in recent years so you have a tendency to hold on to what you can, for as long as you can. We have done our due diligence in you area for about 4 years now and finally found a home in the community we wanted. Now if he gets cut we are ok because we are ready to make the move.

One of the things that has killed especially downstate NY is that the school districts and local government positions have given away the store literally. For example, one local school district the superintendent salary and benefit package is over $525k for overseeing 6,500 kids in 10 schools. NYC chancellor makes just over $212k oversees 1.1 million kids in 1700 schools. Now I grant you that in most cases there is no comparison between these entities in terms of the education but LI has 127 school districts and each has their own superintendent each with a salary of $200k or more!!! The pensions system in NYS for gov't or school employees is so beyond belief you would think we were making it up. In my district, if a teacher takes tickets for say a school play, they are guaranteed by contract to receive $53 per hour for supervisory duties!!!!! Get this one, a parent or adult can only be permitted to do this job if all staff has declined first.!!!! You just can't make this stuff up. How it happens is that, the school boards and also civil servants contract can't be openly discussed due to confidentiality agreements. So they are hammered out often after lengthy battles and the school boards and CSEA delegates simply vote to accept what often is "the best we can do, which translates to this is about all the give backs we can ever hope to get".