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Very true, I noticed that for a heavily Repulican area, he has been re-elected.
Waco seems to love him for the most part. If the Republicans hadnt gerrymandered the hell out of central Texas, he probably would not be in any danger of losing in any election.
My mom says its because he has done a lot for the military and because he has brought a lot into Central Texas.
Orbius - you like that article about Michael Dell - because you use it over and over to illustrate ag exemption abuse. That is one person, one piece of property. Of course there are abuses. They should be rooted out.
You don't seem to understand human behavior very well. The further a politician is from the people affected by their decisions - the less accountable they are.
Your IRS example is irrelevant. The IRS has one job - to collect and enforce Federal taxes. It makes no sense for a local body to collect and levy Federal taxes. Because property taxes (with the exception of Robin Hood) are spent locally, local elected officials and local tax assessors should administer them. I don't want a Houston legislator manipulating Austin tax assessments to benefit his/her district.
As for Lakeway - it provides its own services. It has its own police, its own street maintenance, etc. They do however pay Austin sales taxes. That is a poor example. People who live in West Lake Hills don't pay city of Austin property taxes either.
Orbius - you like that article about Michael Dell - because you use it over and over to illustrate ag exemption abuse. That is one person, one piece of property. Of course there are abuses. They should be rooted out.
You don't seem to understand human behavior very well. The further a politician is from the people affected by their decisions - the less accountable they are.
Your IRS example is irrelevant. The IRS has one job - to collect and enforce Federal taxes. It makes no sense for a local body to collect and levy Federal taxes. Because property taxes (with the exception of Robin Hood) are spent locally, local elected officials and local tax assessors should administer them. I don't want a Houston legislator manipulating Austin tax assessments to benefit his/her district.
As for Lakeway - it provides its own services. It has its own police, its own street maintenance, etc. They do however pay Austin sales taxes. That is a poor example. People who live in West Lake Hills don't pay city of Austin property taxes either.
Its not a bad example its a good example. You have all these little city entities that benefit from these urban centers and attach to them like a barnacle utilizing the services that the tax payers in Austin pay for and not contributing themselves. The current tax structure encourages this behavior. If something is obviously unfair it needs to be changed!
Actually the State distributes a lot of property taxes through Robin Hood in Texas. In the past there was more pressure on tax appraisers to be fair however today if they give some pals low appraisals or ag exemptions then the State will make up the difference.
At the very least the entire local process and valuations need to be opened up to more scrutiny. When a house appraises for half of what it sells for, which is all too common, there should be someone at the State level tapping that appraiser on the shoulder and getting them to justify their appraisal.
I hope you read that I mentioned Robin Hood. I have no problem with scrutiny of the appraisal process.
I have a fundamental belief that the honesty and integrity of politicians decreases the more powerful they become and the further they are from their constituents.
So a county commissioner is more trustworthy than a state legislator who is more trustworthy than a US senator.
I hope you read that I mentioned Robin Hood. I have no problem with scrutiny of the appraisal process.
I have a fundamental belief that the honesty and integrity of politicians decreases the more powerful they become and the further they are from their constituents.
So a county commissioner is more trustworthy than a state legislator who is more trustworthy than a US senator.
It is possible to retain the local appraisal office as long as appropriate oversight is conducted at the State level and enough information is released to the public. Releasing home sale prices to the public would be a great way to see what counties are chronically under appraising homes.
Unfortunately now the system is open to total corruption. I think ultimately we are closer on our opinions than I previously thought.
Orbius - you like that article about Michael Dell - because you use it over and over to illustrate ag exemption abuse. That is one person, one piece of property. Of course there are abuses. They should be rooted out.
You don't seem to understand human behavior very well. The further a politician is from the people affected by their decisions - the less accountable they are.
Your IRS example is irrelevant. The IRS has one job - to collect and enforce Federal taxes. It makes no sense for a local body to collect and levy Federal taxes. Because property taxes (with the exception of Robin Hood) are spent locally, local elected officials and local tax assessors should administer them. I don't want a Houston legislator manipulating Austin tax assessments to benefit his/her district.
As for Lakeway - it provides its own services. It has its own police, its own street maintenance, etc. They do however pay Austin sales taxes. That is a poor example. People who live in West Lake Hills don't pay city of Austin property taxes either.
He is also skipping the part where michael dell pays at least 500K in property taxes on his residence. The acreage is not built up. The issue with not having the ag exemption is that if he didnt have the ag exemption it would be hard to justify leaving it native land so it would just get all built up.
In any case, if he sells and it gets converted to houses he does have to pay 5 years of back taxes on a non-ag exempt basis.
But one house on 1700 acres doesnt seem to me to require that you would value the unused land at the same rate as developed land, but it is a tough call.
He is also skipping the part where michael dell pays at least 500K in property taxes on his residence. The acreage is not built up. The issue with not having the ag exemption is that if he didnt have the ag exemption it would be hard to justify leaving it native land so it would just get all built up.
In any case, if he sells and it gets converted to houses he does have to pay 5 years of back taxes on a non-ag exempt basis.
But one house on 1700 acres doesnt seem to me to require that you would value the unused land at the same rate as developed land, but it is a tough call.
So what you're saying is that because he has a lot of money and other properties its ok for him to pay almost no taxes on $75,000,000 worth of property. Also you insinuate that he is doing this to keep the native land pristine. Which is ridiculous he is a businessman as soon as he gets the price he wants he will sell it and it will be developed. Which is fine I have nothing against business if he pays his taxes like everyone else, which he is not.
Did you read the article he got an ag exemption not an open land exemption here is the description the appraiser(use the term loosely) gave on Dell's property: In suburban Austin, a 1,757-acre ranch owned by Michael Dell has what Travis County appraisers call a "well-managed deer herd" that reduces the ranch's market value of $74.8 million to an agriculture value of $290,000".
An ag exemption for a herd of freaking deer? These people are laughing at the average 'sucker' paying $7000 for their small little 3000sq foot mcmansion while they pay that same amount on their $75,000,000 property.
Your post is good because it shows the justification for fraud that has leaked into Texas regarding appraisals and property taxes. Oh well this guy creates jobs in Texas lets allow this guy to get a really rosy appraisal or lets allow him to abuse the ag exemption process with a wink despite the whole world knowing he is cheating the system.
Last edited by orbius; 10-08-2010 at 07:12 PM..
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