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Personally, I think there's a happy medium with taxes. If they're high, then they become a burden on economic growth, which has a negative effect on quality of life. If they're low, then there's a threshold below which you begin to get what you pay for, which also has a negative effect on quality of life.
Bear in mind that I'm talking about taxes at the local and state level, not the federal level, because the federal government is supposed to be a limited government anyway. The state and local governments are granted much more flexibility, which leads to the different results that we see in different states and localities.
I think this is an interesting subject and have many theories about why taxes are high in some places and not in others. I could drivel on and on about it but will try to keep it to one or two sentences:
Taxes generally only go UP and the places with the most taxes are generally the places that are a.) the oldest and most established economies for the longest period, and b.) generally aren’t fast-growing because the prices have caught up to the QOL.
E.g. the cities that have been the most economically viable for the longest consecutive period that have generally-speaking the best QOL are places like Europe and Canada that have 40%-50% taxes, and generally aren’t growing fast or at all (notable exception: Toronto). I’m not going to argue whether everybody thinks cities like Brussels, Copenhagen, Zurich, Toronto, or even NYC are high-quality urban elite cities, because that’s a waste of time and very subjective, but it’s hard to ignore the correlation. Within the US alone, the oldest “elite” states/cities in the Northeast and even Midwest have the highest taxes compared to places that are newer, not as established (high GDP) for not as long, or had to reinvent their economies and attract people all over again (e.g. much of the South). Politics, no doubt, play a huge factor that makes this theory not 100% universal. As does major weather events and/or global climate change (floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts, etc.).
Therefore, I PERSONALLY believe ALL cities/states will eventually end up with higher taxes over time as they become more established and successful as residents stay and demand better and better services and as older infrastructure needs to be replaced. I think that the cities that will fare the best are those which utilize fixed costs like infrastructure the most efficiently/sustainably, recognize which services should be public/taxed to be most successful for everyone, and whose key resources have the least vulnerability to the inevitably-changing global climate (sorry, climate deniers).
Take from that what you will.....just my opinion.
Last edited by Min-Chi-Cbus; 02-26-2018 at 08:22 PM..
I think this is an interesting subject and have many theories about why taxes are high in some places and not in others. I could drivel on and on about it but will try to keep it to one or two sentences:
I can tell you definitely why taxes are high in the NYC area of NY, CT and NJ. Wall Street.
All three states have a progressive tax system so only the very wealthy are paying the highest CT state tax rate that you are seeing. Residents with low incomes pay little to no state tax. In all three states and especially in the wealthy suburbs of Fairfield County CT they value education and that is why the property taxes are high. I can tell you CT is always in the top 10 and often in the top 5 for states with the best education. We have some of the highest salaries in the nation because we are highly educated in CT and thus we make more money. Also CT does not tax groceries and I see that many low/no state tax states do that.
In retirement CT income is tax free as of this year if you are single making $75,000 and married making $100,000. There is senior tax relief on a sliding scale on your property in retirement and many towns have senior property tax relief on top of that.
And guess what, if you are elderly and you need help, the residents of CT will help you out. I bet the states with the low low regressive taxes don't do that.
And guess what, if you are elderly and you need help, the residents of CT will help you out. I bet the states with the low low regressive taxes don't do that.
You’d lose that bet miserably. It’s amazing how people try to justify paying ridiculous taxes.
Ever hear of southern hospitality? We take care of each other down here.
I pay minimal taxes yet I’ve never, ever thought to myself, “Gee, I’m lacking this and that; I wish I paid more taxes so I could get more out of life.”
You’d lose that bet miserably. It’s amazing how people try to justify paying ridiculous taxes.
Ever hear of southern hospitality? We take care of each other down here.
I pay minimal taxes yet I’ve never, ever thought to myself, “Gee, I’m lacking this and that; I wish I paid more taxes so I could get more out of life.”
Among other things, people of Long Island wanted that LIRR train engineers make $200,000 salaries and six figure pensions.
It is going for things like building a new bus terminal in the middle of the most valuable real estate space in the country for $15 billion. Yeah, that's right. $15 billion for a bus terminal.... because building a low-rise low-value added building in the middle of Midtown Manhattan is a great idea.
You’d lose that bet miserably. It’s amazing how people try to justify paying ridiculous taxes.
Ever hear of southern hospitality? We take care of each other down here.
I pay minimal taxes yet I’ve never, ever thought to myself, “Gee, I’m lacking this and that; I wish I paid more taxes so I could get more out of life.”
"Congratulations Tennessee: You’ve Got the Most Regressive Tax System in America
With no income tax and high sales taxes, the state is asking poor people to pay far more than their fair share." https://www.theatlantic.com/business...ressive/411547
As for your comment I bolded. I live in Fairfield County so I have always made more (than the CT average) so I do pay more in taxes. My main concern in life is not just to help myself but to try to make the state/society I live in a better place and help the sick, disabled, elderly and poor.....and above all to give children of all colors and income levels a good education.
"Congratulations Tennessee: You’ve Got the Most Regressive Tax System in America
With no income tax and high sales taxes, the state is asking poor people to pay far more than their fair share." https://www.theatlantic.com/business...ressive/411547
As for your comment I bolded. I live in Fairfield County so I have always made more (than the CT average) so I do pay more in taxes. My main concern in life is not just to help myself but to try to make the state/society I live in a better place and help the sick, disabled, elderly and poor.....and above all to give children of all colors and income levels a good education.
It sounds like you're a liberal, living in a liberal place, and are happy with that, paying high taxes and all. More power to you.
I respect liberals who actually put their money where their mouths are. I've found that most "Democrats" preach the liberal rhetoric yet behind closed doors are total fiscal conservatives and try to avoid paying extra taxes just as much as guys like me do. I don't know many people who truly want to pay the government one red cent more than they have to...
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