Personal property tax is high in MS (Jackson, Madison: income, exemptions)

[Gill O'Blarney]

Just did an estimate on my old 1995 Oldsmobile 88, which had an MSRP of $21000, when I bought it in 1995. The tag would cost $38.75 in Jackson. But I'll be in Rankin County, so perhaps less there.

Still less than 100,000 miles on that car and it's in excellent condition. I've kept it up, repainted it last year, etc. and don't think twice about driving it long distances. - Driving it to Brandon on Friday from Asheville NC. Gas Mileage is great too - 29 mpg highway. Insurance is negligible - $350 per year.

[poptones]

There's more to the grace period than that. If you park your car and don't put tags on it they'll still come after you for the fees from previous years before you can reregister. The logic behind this is no one can prove you had the car parked - perhaps you simply didn't bother to buy tags and were never caught. So if the car runs and you want to keep it on the road you need to buy tags every year whether you use it or not - hence the grace period.

And yeah, that calculator is way off for my car too. What can you expect? It's from Madison

[Gill O'Blarney]

It's cheaper for those who don't find their incomes decreasing by moving to the state. - Retirees, employees of major corporations, Federal civil servants etc. etc. - In effect, the majority of those who transfer to a new locale.

Personally, I'm looking forward to spending just $175000 to buy a house that would cost me $350,000 here in Asheville, NC.

Heavy tax burden on automobiles? Seems pretty reasonable to me.

There are a number of states that don't have income taxes. You get to choose whether you live. Florida and Tennessee are the first that come to mind, if you want to live in the Southeast.

Personally I don't like Florida. I like seasons with fall color, etc. But to each his own. Texas is great. Ya coulda stayed there. It's all a matter of choice.

Originally Posted by dal2aus

In a nutshell, no. While on the surface, housing prices & taxes may seem cheaper than other areas, the salaries are even lower. If you live out in the country, that may work, but living in the larger metro areas of MS, it just doesn't add up.

Also, I don't understand why the state thinks it's so smart to place such a heavy tax burden on new automobiles. Don't they realize how much it stifles the new car market? Used cars don't create jobs, new cars do, and why a state that is home to the automotive industry would penalize people for buying a new car is beyond me. Also, where does the money go? The roads here are terrible.

I also have a big issue with the idea of a state income tax. I came from Texas, where you paid taxes on what you owned, not what you earned. One of Texas' biggest weapons in the fight for relocating businesses is that there is no state personal income tax. Money is collected on property taxes, and it stays in the county or school district where it is collected.

Finally, I have no problem with the idea of paying taxes. Nothing is free. But given the big chunk taken out of my paycheck every week, I just don't see where the money goes.

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by dal2aus

In a nutshell, no. While on the surface, housing prices & taxes may seem cheaper than other areas, the salaries are even lower. If you live out in the country, that may work, but living in the larger metro areas of MS, it just doesn't add up.

Also, I don't understand why the state thinks it's so smart to place such a heavy tax burden on new automobiles. Don't they realize how much it stifles the new car market? Used cars don't create jobs, new cars do, and why a state that is home to the automotive industry would penalize people for buying a new car is beyond me. Also, where does the money go? The roads here are terrible.

I also have a big issue with the idea of a state income tax. I came from Texas, where you paid taxes on what you owned, not what you earned. One of Texas' biggest weapons in the fight for relocating businesses is that there is no state personal income tax. Money is collected on property taxes, and it stays in the county or school district where it is collected.

Finally, I have no problem with the idea of paying taxes. Nothing is free. But given the big chunk taken out of my paycheck every week, I just don't see where the money goes.

A lot more money is collected on property taxes in Texas! For a $200k home in Austin, expect to pay $4,000/year in property taxes. Here in Jackson, it's less than $1,000/year.

[Gill O'Blarney]

Originally Posted by jacksonian

A lot more money is collected on property taxes in Texas! For a $200k home in Austin, expect to pay $4,000/year in property taxes. Here in Jackson, it's less than $1,000/year.

I haven't done any specific research on it, but when I look at the real estate listings for homes in the $175000 range in the Brandon and Madison areas (which is what and where I'll be buying), I'm seeing estimated property tax figures around $1200 per year - which is amazingly cheap, compared to my former places of residence in Gwinnett County & Dekalb County, Georgia (Atlanta suburbs)

I can only imagine how it compares to California!


Mississippi is indeed "cheap"

If only it weren't so hot!!

But the cheaper prices allow for traveling and staying in cooler climes during the worst of the summer heat.

[poptones]

If you think it's hot in Mississippi you ain't been to Arizona or North Hollywood (aka "the valley"). Yeah I had a lovely place because I could afford to live in the hills of Silverlake. But it is HOT in the valley and WOW is it hot in Arizona. And don't sy "yeah but it's a dry heat" - when you can burn your arm from the WIND by sticking your arm out the window of a moving car, that's freaking hot. At least in MS you can get some respite by keeping a car with bad ac moving - try that in Phoenix or Tuscon and it's like sticking your arm in front of a heat gun paint stripper.

[timnwin]

True it is hot in Arizona, but Arizona doesn't have the Humidity that Mississippi has. That's the thing that gets you...the humidity. I only hope this year we have a real winter. I am over summer now.

[Tama]

After a certain point it doesn't matter about humidity or not. I remember being in Placerville, CA one summer and it was a dry heat--but a burning heat--like a scorch--horrible!

[dal2aus]

Originally Posted by jacksonian

A lot more money is collected on property taxes in Texas! For a $200k home in Austin, expect to pay $4,000/year in property taxes. Here in Jackson, it's less than $1,000/year.

$4,000 is nothing compared to 5% of your salary in personal income taxes plus sky-high auto registration fees every year plus regular sales taxes...and when you look around you have to ask, "Where does it all go?"

Like I said, what most concerns me is getting my money's worth. When you look at the infrastructure of TX vs. the infrastructure of MS, it's pretty clear that improvements could be made in how MS spends its tax dollars.

I'm not saying that TX is perfect, but just because I point out where MS falls short doesn't mean I regret my decision to move here. Back in TX, I actively challenged the status quo there. We plan on being here for a long while, but we're not just going to take the attitude that the way things are is the way they're supposed to be. If you truly care about your state, you have to be willing to be critical enough to look for ways to improve it.

[jacksonian]

Originally Posted by dal2aus

$4,000 is nothing compared to 5% of your salary in personal income taxes plus sky-high auto registration fees every year plus regular sales taxes...and when you look around you have to ask, "Where does it all go?"

You're taking two different criteria and combining them into one sentence there. The $4,000 was related to a $200k house, whereas 5% of salary depends on the person's salary, ie someone with a $200k salary will more than likely live in a house worth well more than $200k. If you do the math, the property taxes in Texas are pretty much even with the state income taxes in Mississippi. I still don't get what you mean by "sky-high auto registration fees every year." Like I said before, I pay about $40/year... which is hardly "sky-high."

Originally Posted by dal2aus

Like I said, what most concerns me is getting my money's worth. When you look at the infrastructure of TX vs. the infrastructure of MS, it's pretty clear that improvements could be made in how MS spends its tax dollars.

I'm not saying that TX is perfect, but just because I point out where MS falls short doesn't mean I regret my decision to move here. Back in TX, I actively challenged the status quo there. We plan on being here for a long while, but we're not just going to take the attitude that the way things are is the way they're supposed to be. If you truly care about your state, you have to be willing to be critical enough to look for ways to improve it.

I agree that Mississippi could do a better job of maintaining the infrastructure, and I know that a lot of the attention is still focused on the rebuilding of the coast, but the rest of the state needs attention as well. If I were part of the status quo, I wouldn't be living in Jackson - I challenge others very regularly. If anything, I'm all for change and Mississippi is notorious for delaying what is needed now (that can be said for a lot of the South).