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I know some local jurisdictions charge a separate trash pick-up fee. However other jurisdictions include that as part of property taxes or other local tax revenue.
Which brings up this.......my parents live in a neighborhood with a homeowners association that hires their own people to do garbage collections, so county services are not utilized. Likewise I know people who live in gated communities with their own swimming pools yet have to pay taxes toward supporting county pools since that county has public county-run pools. Now not all counties here in Maryland have that. I live in Baltimore County which doesn't have public county pools, and I'm perfectly fine with that since I personally live in a gated community now with a pool (though I'll be moving to West Virginia this summer). And if they want to use tax money to fund construction of a public pool hypothetically I would be against it, same with using tax money to fund more parks. Also if its a gated community with private security, then the residents use less police protection.
I know some counties have lower taxes and separate fees for things like garbage collection to make it more fair for people living in gated communities, homeowners associations, apartment complexes etc that do not use local government services. But if you live in such a community but your county still charges you the same tax rate, do you think that is a problem? Shouldn't there be federal or state tax exemption or deductions for people in this situation??? I HAVE also heard along the same lines that people whose children go to private schools should get exemptions since they are not utilizing public schools?
If it can be differentiated I think fees are better than taxes since the people who use services pay for it. Similarly I would rather have less taxes to toward state and national parks and have these parks charge higher entrance fees instead so the people using the parks are paying for them.
Now in case any liberals point anything out.....gas taxes are NOT a user fee since a lot of them go toward subsidizing public transportation in the cities.
Should residents of HOA or gated communities be exempt from some local taxes or get tax exemptions?
Not really. Would it be nice? Sure, but when you have an HOA you are privately contracting for services. The fact that some services might be provided by the city is secondary. The private security company is still going to call the cops if something happens. The public pool is accessible to people in HOA's. Public schools are still accessible by people living in HOA's. The only part that doesn't make sense is trash pickup can be outsourced to the city for a fee, but not for free, at least not the large trash containers and not where I live.
We successfully petitioned the town handle our trash removal (subject to our complying with their reasonable standards, i.e., leave trash cans out on the street, like everyone else - in other words, not dumpster service). They wouldn't budge, though, with regard to snow removal or streetlight repair.
You (or your parents) voluntarily moved into a development covered by a HOA regime, presumably (because many people don't) having read, understood and agreed to all the various items covered by the CCRs (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions). These can cover everything from HOA fees, use of amenities, number of cars allowed, parking, architectural standards and a myriad of other things.
The issue of trash service would have been set out in the development agreement the developer and jurisdiction entered into during the project approval process, as would have responsibilities for road maintenance, street lights, parking lots and a few other things. Typically the responsibilty for those items within the development parcel are the responsibility of the HOA although there can be exceptions in some circumstances. Here the two Towns provide trash service for most of the HOAs and those residences don't have an HOA levy for that service although it is a Special Assessment on the property tax bills as it is for all residences in the Towns.
As to amenities, those are private entities owned/managed/operated by the HOA for the benefit of its members while those same activities owned by the jurisdiction are open to all residents of the jurisdiction (and even non-residents, typically for a higher fee if one is levied).
You, as a resident of the jurisdiction can make use of any publicly owned activities while I can not use your HOA amenities (usually, some do have fees for non-residents) without an invitation or being accompanied by a member of the HOA.
No; they are private property by a contract. Not any different than people who have pools not being exempt from paying same taxes for public pools. Here most HOAs have dedicated public streets but gated can not be for obvious reasons. Many such streets not dedicate don't even meet standards need to be dedicated. Same as to connect to city/county drainage and sewer they have to be inspected and meet city/county standards.
my parents live in a neighborhood with a homeowners association that hires their own people to do garbage collections, so county services are not utilized. Likewise I know people who live in gated communities with their own swimming pools yet have to pay taxes toward supporting county pools since that county has public county-run pools.
I know some counties have lower taxes and separate fees for things like garbage collection to make it more fair for people living in gated communities, homeowners associations, apartment complexes etc that do not use local government services. But if you live in such a community but your county still charges you the same tax rate, do you think that is a problem?
Yes, if your TAX bill includes garbage service, that's a poorly designed system for the county.
However , nowhere I've ever lived does that. Where I have lived, you have a TAX bill for property taxes, and along with sales taxes these go into the local government's general fund. Then you have completely seperate UTILITY FEES for trash, recycling, water, sewer, stormwater, etc., based on usage, that go into what is called an enterprise fund, which puts the money aside in its own pot.
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Shouldn't there be federal or state tax exemption or deductions for people in this situation???
Oh hell no. Federal exemptions for solid waste fees for gated communities? You are nuts.
We already give federal deductions for local taxes, which I think is a bad idea.
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I HAVE also heard along the same lines that people whose children go to private schools should get exemptions since they are not utilizing public schools?
I've heard this discussed, but I've never seen it utilized in practice. I believe it has the effect of decreasing funding to schools in poor neighborhoods, so I don't support it.
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If it can be differentiated I think fees are better than taxes since the people who use services pay for it.
Most people agree with you. There is some limit, though, when it comes to services like health and education.
Yes, if your TAX bill includes garbage service, that's a poorly designed system for the county. However , nowhere I've ever lived does that.
That's remarkable. It has been the case everywhere we've lived since we got married. (And of course is the main reason why we petitioned to have the town haul our garbage. Of course, they also tax us for snow removal, but won't plow our streets.)
Living in a HOA is by choice and does not exempt anyone from any kind of taxation.
That being said I would never live in a HOA. Idiots that run those things turn into petty dictators.
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