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Old 05-25-2016, 08:31 PM
 
Location: OH
688 posts, read 1,116,824 times
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Just a clarification: Ohio property taxes are not relatively high. However, Central Ohio property taxes are quite high. According to USA Today the City of Columbus has the highest effective property tax rate of any of the cities studied.


Top 10 cities with the highest tax rates
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Old 05-25-2016, 08:42 PM
 
Location: OH
688 posts, read 1,116,824 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by warren zee View Post
They are NOT high. Places like the Pocono region of PA have taxes of $8-10K per year on a 2800-3200 sq. ft house. On Long Island NY? The same house would have taxes that run from $9000 - 18,000.

We had a 4300 sq. ft house with an inground swimming pool. Our taxes were 20grand a year and moving up.


The Realtor who showed us the house apologized for the high taxes, attributing it to the family room that was added on in the 1970s.
We asked how much the taxes were and she replied "$1500". We said "per month?" She looked shocked and said "Oh no! Of course not! Per year!"

Ohio taxes are LOW TAXES.

Try NY,NJ, PA, or most southern states where everyone moves for the weather and the cost of living. Then double my taxes and make the house sit on a postage stamp piece of property.

Ohio is property tax nirvana.

We have good schools, they pickup our trash and repair our roads, they clean the streets when it snows. Frankly I do not want to drive my own garbage to the dump or pave my own streets. Also, I do not want to have to send my children to private school.

Taxes take care of these needs.

Yet property taxes pay for next to none of these, save for schools. Trash pickup is a fee service in many cases. When it is not, it is likely performed by the local city just like street maintenance and repair. Ohio cities, unlike most everywhere else across the country, derive the bulk of their revenue from income taxes. Property taxes are largely driven by a base millage levied by whichever county you reside in for the county's general fund, plus the lions share goes to the school district (perhaps upwards of half of all property taxes go to schools), add on top of this public libraries, the zoo, vocational school districts, overlapping townships (fire & EMS) if applicable, park districts if applicable, MRDD, Children's Services, ADAMH, metro parks, and senior services.
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Old 05-29-2016, 07:33 PM
 
16,345 posts, read 18,051,721 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen_master View Post
Just a clarification: Ohio property taxes are not relatively high. However, Central Ohio property taxes are quite high. According to USA Today the City of Columbus has the highest effective property tax rate of any of the cities studied.


Top 10 cities with the highest tax rates
Yet the overall cost of living is one of the lowest for a major city, just like it is in other Ohio cities. And without factoring in wages, looking at COL alone is somewhat useless to begin with.
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Old 05-29-2016, 08:41 PM
 
Location: livin' the good life on America's favorite island
2,221 posts, read 4,390,912 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen_master View Post
Just a clarification: Ohio property taxes are not relatively high. However, Central Ohio property taxes are quite high. According to USA Today the City of Columbus has the highest effective property tax rate of any of the cities studied.


Top 10 cities with the highest tax rates
Wow, even I was surprised to see Columbus in the top five highest tax rate, especially for higher earners.
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Old 05-31-2016, 01:25 PM
 
Location: Columbus, OH
1,058 posts, read 1,249,476 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen_master View Post
Just a clarification: Ohio property taxes are not relatively high. However, Central Ohio property taxes are quite high. According to USA Today the City of Columbus has the highest effective property tax rate of any of the cities studied.


Top 10 cities with the highest tax rates


And I live in Hilliard, which is at the very top of the property tax chart. Ugh.
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Old 05-31-2016, 03:10 PM
 
Location: NKY's Campbell Co.
2,107 posts, read 5,082,854 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen_master View Post
Yet property taxes pay for next to none of these, save for schools. Trash pickup is a fee service in many cases. When it is not, it is likely performed by the local city just like street maintenance and repair. Ohio cities, unlike most everywhere else across the country, derive the bulk of their revenue from income taxes. Property taxes are largely driven by a base millage levied by whichever county you reside in for the county's general fund, plus the lions share goes to the school district (perhaps upwards of half of all property taxes go to schools), add on top of this public libraries, the zoo, vocational school districts, overlapping townships (fire & EMS) if applicable, park districts if applicable, MRDD, Children's Services, ADAMH, metro parks, and senior services.
I find that a little misleading. My parents have lived in Beavercreek for 26 years. Never had a local income tax, only property taxes. No SD tax either.

The property tax goes partially to the county, though what that funds varies from county to county, and even sometimes municipality-to-municipality. For them, Greene County collects to maintain county roads, which include maintenance on township roads just outside Beavercreek. They also pay partially towards county sewer and water services, which is county maintained. There are also county owned and maintained parks and trails. There are also county sheriff, senior, children and disability services as well.

I'll agree a large, large chunk goes to schools. They aren't cheap to fund, and even the poor districts tend to have high property tax percentages going from the local municipality/county to the district. Regardless, for the cities and towns with good schools, the property tax is worth it.

The city also takes, via property tax, money for Police/Fire/EMS, City Roads, and City Parks. But what makes Beavercreek even more affordable despite Ohio's mid-to-upper-mid-range property taxes, is it sits next to a federal base, where a city cannot levy an income tax based on working location. So, no workplace location income tax coupled with no local residency income tax equals why Beavercreek is desirable (Doesn't hurt that the schools are good and there is available land to develop). It also attracts a large number of defense contractor and other white-collar offices due to no local work location income tax.

I think it is the local income tax (both live and work, and the credits or no credits based on agreements), that makes Ohio a "bad-tax" state. If it was a little simpler, or there wasn't any local income tax at all, it would probably work well all around. But with the estate tax gone, local communities need something to fall back on. But the uncertainty and confusing nature of the structure is a burden on anyone (resident or business) looking to relocate to Ohio.
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Old 05-31-2016, 03:22 PM
 
Location: NKY's Campbell Co.
2,107 posts, read 5,082,854 times
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I don't think NC has nearly as many schools, mainly high schools, that can deliver on the same caliber as Ohio.

How States Compare in the 2016 Best High Schools Rankings | Best High Schools | US News

OH: Of total schools, 155 received recognition. 17.6% of all eligible schools.
NC: Of total schools, 44 received recognition. 7.7% of all eligible schools.

Granted, its US News World Reports version of rankings, but comparing Ohio's 11th spot to North Carolina's 38th spot, the differences probably don't vary drastically between way of measurement (or who performs the measuring).

Not saying there are not good schools in NC. Just fewer and further between, which makes living in one while paying cheaper taxes at the property tax level less likely.

Total schools eligible in OH: 879
Total schools eligible in NC: 575

Of surprising note, top five were
1) MD at 28.9%
2) CT at 24.9%
3) CA at 23.8%
4) FL at 21.4% (a surprise in my mind!)
5) MA at 21.2%
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Old 05-31-2016, 04:07 PM
 
16,345 posts, read 18,051,721 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wrightflyer View Post
I don't think NC has nearly as many schools, mainly high schools, that can deliver on the same caliber as Ohio.

How States Compare in the 2016 Best High Schools Rankings | Best High Schools | US News

OH: Of total schools, 155 received recognition. 17.6% of all eligible schools.
NC: Of total schools, 44 received recognition. 7.7% of all eligible schools.

Granted, its US News World Reports version of rankings, but comparing Ohio's 11th spot to North Carolina's 38th spot, the differences probably don't vary drastically between way of measurement (or who performs the measuring).

Not saying there are not good schools in NC. Just fewer and further between, which makes living in one while paying cheaper taxes at the property tax level less likely.

Total schools eligible in OH: 879
Total schools eligible in NC: 575

Of surprising note, top five were
1) MD at 28.9%
2) CT at 24.9%
3) CA at 23.8%
4) FL at 21.4% (a surprise in my mind!)
5) MA at 21.2%
I would expect NC public education to only decline further what with the state legislature there constantly watering it down or defunding it whenever it is not too busy checking the genital papers of bathroom users.
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Old 05-31-2016, 07:14 PM
 
Location: Warren, OH
2,744 posts, read 4,232,617 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ohio_peasant View Post
Cultural differences are enormously important! Without making too personal of a set of observations, I'd opine that the European-oriented set from "old" NYC (mid-20th-century) would encounter severe cultural challenges in the Midwest, except possibly in enclaves in the largest cities (Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland). Moving from big-city to small-town is traumatic overall, but moving from NYC to small-town Midwest is especially so.

Returning to financial questions, if one does happen to relocate from an expensive coastal city to a cheaper/smaller town, well, it's possible to afford a more lavish quality of life, and possibly to save more money for one's investments/retirement. But there's an opportunity-cost, of foregone residential real-estate appreciation. Certainly we can invest in stocks or whatnot, and not counting on our personal residence as principal engine of wealth-building. I'd be the last to extol real-estate as a path to riches! Even so, for persons who can afford that NYC or SF house, a lifetime of owning such a house is a nice instrument for diversification, beyond stocks and bonds. In the Midwest, this isn't possible, owing to doggedly low perennial real-estate appreciation.

I wonder what will happen going-forward. Will a $100K house in Ohio still cost $100K in 40 years? Will a $1M house in the NYC metro-area appreciate to $4M... or stay at $1M, or actually decline in price? Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't residential real-estate prices more or less uniform nationwide, in the 1970s... diverging greatly, since then?
'

We felt WAY more cultural differences in North Eastern PA than we do in NE Ohio - as compared to NY.
Better shopping. Restaurants are plentiful and not only chains. Fairly suburban lifestyle more similar to Nassau County than Suffolk (But there are Suffolk type places in NE Ohio) women who are upper middle class or middle class take care of themselves - hair, nails,fashion. Golf and riding are popular.

Homes look similar. From mid century, to 1920s to newer subdivisions.

PA was different. Odd. And the people were just not friendly.
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Old 05-31-2016, 08:10 PM
 
Location: Youngstown, Oh.
5,509 posts, read 9,488,459 times
Reputation: 5621
Quote:
Originally Posted by warren zee View Post
'

We felt WAY more cultural differences in North Eastern PA than we do in NE Ohio - as compared to NY.
Better shopping. Restaurants are plentiful and not only chains. Fairly suburban lifestyle more similar to Nassau County than Suffolk (But there are Suffolk type places in NE Ohio) women who are upper middle class or middle class take care of themselves - hair, nails,fashion. Golf and riding are popular.

Homes look similar. From mid century, to 1920s to newer subdivisions.

PA was different. Odd. And the people were just not friendly.
Although many dismiss it out of hand, Northeast Ohio may have more of a northeastern feel than other parts of the state, because it was originally part of the Connecticut Western Reserve. I don't know what to say about your experiences in PA, though.
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