More Money to the state for driving a car ? (Sierra Vista: crime, buying)

[Bygeorge]

Originally Posted by Tall Traveler

it's a negative for me as far as moving to Arizona....I have a newer Jeep Grand Cherokee, Doge Charger Hellcat and BMW 228I.....would be costly to register in Arizona.

I am playing golf today in shorts. What I save in gas and electricity more than makes up for vehicle expenses. The last thing AZ needs is more people moving here. But, you live here for climate. The initial registration can be significant but that is not unusual around the country. I would not mind seeing a snowbird fee. Things get congested with the seasonal influx. Spread the pain and the wealth.

[Hschlick84]

There are options that could have been implemented. Have state patrol charge street law violators higher citation fees, or start enforcing laws and pull people over for unreadable faded license plates that look like garbage.

Punishing everybody because the people in Arizona passed Prop 126 is a crock of manure, its the government who has a spending problem.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Bygeorge

What I save in gas and electricity more than makes up for vehicle expenses.

Agreed, although electricity isn't cheap here in the summer months. Not sure what the heating expenses are in the colder parts of AZ during the winter, but I'd imagine they'd be on the expensive side. One of my lowest bills is SW Gas, especially in the summer. Vehicle expenses will get you one way or the other. If you have a newish car, your registration fees are high, but if you drive a clunker then you pay a lot less in registration, but then you're usually saddled with repairs. Tires, brakes, hoses, and especially batteries don't last long here because of the intense sun & heat.

Originally Posted by Bygeorge

The last thing AZ needs is more people moving here. But, you live here for climate.

I certainly don't live here for the climate, but I can't speak for everyone else. Moving here strictly for the weather/climate is one of the stupidest reasons imaginable, especially when other factors take precedence.

Originally Posted by Hschlick84

There are options that could have been implemented. Have state patrol charge street law violators higher citation fees, or start enforcing laws and pull people over for unreadable faded license plates that look like garbage.

Punishing everybody because the people in Arizona passed Prop 126 is a crock of manure, its the government who has a spending problem.

I couldn't agree with you more, but unfortunately I cant rep you until after I "spread the love". Don't you love those old faded license plates with the 6 characters? I've found that many of the vehicles with those old plates have the most slow & timid drivers on the roads! I've also been advocating for more enforcement of the "slower traffic keep right" law. Cops should be pulling over & citing these idiotic slowpokes who hog the left lanes, as well as the aggressive speeders. In reality, the slow & timid ones are more of a safety hazard, especially on freeways or open highways.

[Tall Traveler]

Originally Posted by Bygeorge

I am playing golf today in shorts. What I save in gas and electricity more than makes up for vehicle expenses. The last thing AZ needs is more people moving here. But, you live here for climate. The initial registration can be significant but that is not unusual around the country. I would not mind seeing a snowbird fee. Things get congested with the seasonal influx. Spread the pain and the wealth.

We do plan to Snowbird there starting next winter as I'm retiring in a few months and we already bought our Snowbird house there in 2013....I realize that government needs to get their money somewhere, I just prefer it be somewhere else besides cars. We voted away the property tax on cars in our state (Washington) years ago.

[Bygeorge]

[quote=Valley Native;53776568]Agreed, although electricity isn't cheap here in the summer months. Not sure what the heating expenses are in the colder parts of AZ during the winter, but I'd imagine they'd be on the expensive side. One of my lowest bills is SW Gas, especially in the summer. Vehicle expenses will get you one way or the other. If you have a newish car, your registration fees are high, but if you drive a clunker then you pay a lot less in registration, but then you're usually saddled with repairs. Tires, brakes, hoses, and especially batteries don't last long here because of the intense sun & heat.



I certainly don't live here for the climate, but I can't speak for everyone else. Moving here strictly for the weather/climate is one of the stupidest reasons imaginable, especially when other factors take precedence.


My electric bill has never been over $155 in the height of summer. Gas never over 50 in winter. House is over 3000 sq ft. Well insulated I guess.

I think living in an agreeable climate for outdoor activity is the only reason to live in a particular place.

[Tall Traveler]

[quote=Bygeorge;53778139]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Agreed, although electricity isn't cheap here in the summer months. Not sure what the heating expenses are in the colder parts of AZ during the winter, but I'd imagine they'd be on the expensive side. One of my lowest bills is SW Gas, especially in the summer. Vehicle expenses will get you one way or the other. If you have a newish car, your registration fees are high, but if you drive a clunker then you pay a lot less in registration, but then you're usually saddled with repairs. Tires, brakes, hoses, and especially batteries don't last long here because of the intense sun & heat.



I certainly don't live here for the climate, but I can't speak for everyone else. Moving here strictly for the weather/climate is one of the stupidest reasons imaginable, especially when other factors take precedence.


My electric bill has never been over $155 in the height of summer. Gas never over 50 in winter. House is over 3000 sq ft. Well insulated I guess.

I think living in an agreeable climate for outdoor activity is the only reason to live in a particular place.

You don't live there for the climate but you think living in an agreeable climate is the only reason to live in a particular place Are those statements not contradictory?

Those utilitiy costs seem low for a 3000 square foot house....can I ask the city where you reside if you don't mind sharing?

[beckerd2]

Arizona is getting out of hand with the raising of their taxes on everything. Tucson area property taxes(especially those who have a home in the TUSD school area) have jumped quite a bit and the sales tax for anything besides groceries is almost 10%. On top of that, income tax out the wazoo. Now they put another "tax" on driving a car.
Of course, this isn't as bad as the East Coast but its still ridiculous on how greedy the state is getting.
Looks like Arizona is ranked number 11 highest according to kiplinger....this is the quote from that site...
"The average combined state and local sales tax rate is 8.33%, the 11th-highest in the U.S., according to the Tax Foundation."
https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/...tes/index.html

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Tall Traveler

You don't live there for the climate but you think living in an agreeable climate is the only reason to live in a particular place Are those statements not contradictory?

The quotes were screwed up. It was me who said I don't live here for the climate, and ByGeorge replied with his statement that living in agreeable climate is the only reason to live somewhere. When you consider how intolerably hot it can be in much of the state during the summer months, and the current drought on top of it, I fail to understand how anybody can seriously say Arizona has a great climate. There are other places in the U.S. and around the world which have nicer summers and the rest of the year doesn't have too many extremes.

Originally Posted by beckerd2

Arizona is getting out of hand with the raising of their taxes on everything. Tucson area property taxes(especially those who have a home in the TUSD school area) have jumped quite a bit and the sales tax for anything besides groceries is almost 10%. On top of that, income tax out the wazoo. Now they put another "tax" on driving a car.
Of course, this isn't as bad as the East Coast but its still ridiculous on how greedy the state is getting.
Looks like Arizona is ranked number 11 highest according to kiplinger....this is the quote from that site...
"The average combined state and local sales tax rate is 8.33%, the 11th-highest in the U.S., according to the Tax Foundation."
https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/...tes/index.html

Just what I've been saying all along: it's not cheap to live here. Many people come here from CA or the eastern states because of the lower cost of living, and it may be more reasonable compared to those places, but it's still not exactly a bargain when you factor everything in. Maybe it would be more of a bargain if the average wages kept up with the rising cost of living, but they're not. AZ could easily eliminate the income tax. Other states like Texas and Nevada do just fine without an income tax, so why should we have it?

[new2colo]

This is a case of the state being unable to properly cover its expenses. Arizona's Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) has been raided for a handful of years to fund DPS. The intention of HURF was a dedicated funding set aside for town/cities/counties to spend on transportation projects not eligible for other state or federal funding. Instead of formulating a ballot proposition for an increase in taxes or fees to properly fund DPS in place of the HURF raids, the legislature decided to increase our Vehicle License Tax. Since Ducey took a pledge of no new taxes under his watch, the state is VERY carefully making sure this is labeled as a "fee" increase, rather than the tax increase it is. It is underhanded, primarily because the legislature and the governor evidently think Arizonans are dumb. Transparency should always be the name of the game if you're expecting people to divert more of their hard earned money to a new tax.

[Tall Traveler]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

The quotes were screwed up. It was me who said I don't live here for the climate, and ByGeorge replied with his statement that living in agreeable climate is the only reason to live somewhere. When you consider how intolerably hot it can be in much of the state during the summer months, and the current drought on top of it, I fail to understand how anybody can seriously say Arizona has a great climate. There are other places in the U.S. and around the world which have nicer summers and the rest of the year doesn't have too many extremes.



Just what I've been saying all along: it's not cheap to live here. Many people come here from CA or the eastern states because of the lower cost of living, and it may be more reasonable compared to those places, but it's still not exactly a bargain when you factor everything in. Maybe it would be more of a bargain if the average wages kept up with the rising cost of living, but they're not. AZ could easily eliminate the income tax. Other states like Texas and Nevada do just fine without an income tax, so why should we have it?

Well California and Hawaii have better climates for 5 times the price. I think Sierra Vista has the nicest climate of any inexpensive place to live in the USA. Phoenix has, in my opinion, more good days to enjoy th eoutside than 80-90% of the USA. Yes, there are down sides but there are downsides to everywhere.