SC Rip's Off Citizens (Columbia: buy, schools, utilities)

[wowdecia]

This is interesting to me. I moved to SC from MI and my car I owned then was $75 for tags yearly and in SC, that year was $116. I guess I stupidly got a newer car, cuz my tax the first year with it was $140, although I was kinda surprised that was it. But my insurance is MUCH lower here than in MI. But yes, I agree, get rid of the property taxes on cars. They should drop it, make it like it is in some states, where you pay for yearly inspection so that those fuming, bad for the environment cars stay off the road. And get those uninsured motorists off too. My insurance has to go up a little (just got a notice in the mail) because of them. But then again, if employers would pay people more for their hard work and people were more educated, maybe some of these problems wouldn't exist.

[flgargoyle]

It appears as though the strategy in SC would be 1) Don't earn too much money. 2) Don't have a big fancy house. 3) Drive an old junky car. I should fit right in!

[jac]

Ok, so I looked up tax burden by state and ended up on the website for retirement living. According to their table, SC tax burden falls right in the middle of the pack at #26. So, I guess it really depends on whose data you are looking at. And yes, TN has a lower tax burden. However, our school situation here (for my family) is much better than it was there.

[Jam116]

Originally Posted by jac

Ok, so I looked up tax burden by state and ended up on the website for retirement living. According to their table, SC tax burden falls right in the middle of the pack at #26. So, I guess it really depends on whose data you are looking at. And yes, TN has a lower tax burden. However, our school situation here (for my family) is much better than it was there.

SC school systems are nothing to be proud of...But neither is TN's....
Between TN & SC I saw a 28% increase in tax burden....That is real world in my income....
I'm going to register my most of my vehicles back in TN to the home I still own back there.....I will leave one registered here as I also own a home here...

[jac]

I don't know what your experience is with various school systems, but I have been very impressed with what we have encountered in Greenville County.

As for your tax issues, I am sorry that your tax burden has increased due to your move. Obviously this has made you very angry. However, I think what you are suggesting is considered tax evasion.

[Girl]

Originally Posted by Art123

For example, someone making $20,000/year might spend 50% of their income on "things" they need just to get by, thereby being taxed on a lot of what they make. While someone making $200,000 might spend 20% of their income on "things" they need and have much less of a tax burden.

Purely devil's advocate - I'm not saying this is right:

The person making $20K/year is spending it on small ticket items - a new trashcan, a new lamp, a new set of towels. The person making $200K is buying big screen tvs, brand new maple cabinets for the kitchen, a riding lawnmower, or that brand spankin' new Lexus for the driveway. So in effect the person making $200K IS paying more sales tax.

[NorthmeetsSouth]

Originally Posted by Art123

I am really tired of people complaining about taxes in this country. We have the lowest taxes of any industrialized nation. We SHOULD complain about rich people not paying their fair share, as they have the resources and laws behind them to utilize all the loopholes us regular people don't take advantage of. We SHOULD complain about all the money going down the commode in Iraq and DC. But let's face it people, we need to pay taxes so the government can provide the things us individuals can not.

Actually, the top 25% of taxpayers in this country paid 86% of the federal income tax collected. Take a look at this website. www.taxfoundation.org/prtopincome.html
I think you will find it very interesting, and it may help to alleviate some of the "Class warfare" that the media likes to stir up.
Frankly, I think that the "rich" often pay more than their fair share, and if we as a country want to punish them for making more money than many of us by increasing their tax burden then they might decide not to bother making as much money, so they won't need as many employees.
We shouldn't envy those who are more successful... we should emulate them!

[lakerock]

I concur with NorthmeetsSouth, wealthier people, who most likely worked their tails off to get to where they are, certainly do pay taxes. The media and politicians perpetuate the myth that the rich pay little or no taxes and there are loopholes galore that only "they" can take advantage of. It is classic class-warfare propaganda and baiting which breeds envy. Do you realize that the majority of us on this forum are considered "rich" by U.S. standards? Just my two cents on the discussion.

[guardrail22]

FYI - the tax rebate from the state for schools is only the operating portion of the county budget. On my bill the total school cost is $700+ but my credit is only $522.

[justNancy]

On the Columbia board a poster said his electric bill was about $220 last month. Is this normal? Mine was under $38. (I live in FL) My average bill for a 2 bed/2 ba apartment is around $50. Both FL & SC need air conditioning in the summer, but I never thought about the extra cost for heat in the winter, which we rarely need. Actually, it was 82 today and at 4:30 in the morning it's still 68, so I look forward to some cooler weather!