Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-24-2007, 06:50 PM
 
168 posts, read 904,683 times
Reputation: 129

Advertisements

We've all heard the deregatory term, but where does it come from? The property taxes in MA seem to be pretty reasonable compared to the surrounding states. Are there other, more confiscatory taxes that I am not aware of? State income tax? Local fees? What?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-24-2007, 07:58 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,747,664 times
Reputation: 2961
http://www.census.gov/govs/statetax/05staxrank.html
According to the census bureau, we are #7 in the U.S. per capita. We used to be taxed higher than we are now, and that's where the name came from. Many people also feel that we get the least for the amount of taxes we pay, i.e. we spend too much on welfare and not enough for the average citizen. The rich can live well here (or anywhere), the poor can get by here on welfare, but the middle class are living like the poor after you take into consideration all the subsidies the poor get.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-24-2007, 09:09 PM
 
168 posts, read 904,683 times
Reputation: 129
I live in CA and I believe we are taxed more overall than MA. Our property taxes are not bad but we pay a state income tax of almost 10%. Our local sales tax is 7.25% on pretty much everything but food and prescriptions.

We are probably taxed even more for public assistance (welfare if you're not PC) than MA is. So, where MA looks expensive to some (mid-westeners and southerners), it looks cheaper than CA to me.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-24-2007, 09:21 PM
 
188 posts, read 986,439 times
Reputation: 63
Massachusetts generally supports the idea of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Although many MASS residents support this idea.. MA has not added many new taxes in comparison to NY or CA (partial thanks to Romney). I'm not too sure that this will remain true under Mr. Patrick.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-24-2007, 09:50 PM
 
3,075 posts, read 5,620,825 times
Reputation: 2698
Massachusetts was more of "taxachusetts" in the 1980's and under Dukakis. Since then it isn't as bad, but still isn't a bargain either. Having republican governors through the 1990's and until recently has helped any one party from dominating the political scene. Granted, the political party in the state congress is overwhelmingly democrats, so they have lots of control over the state. Also, owning or operating a business in MA is quite expensive and a reason many companies have moved from here.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-24-2007, 10:08 PM
 
Location: wrong planet
5,161 posts, read 11,399,563 times
Reputation: 4336
Here are the new figures for 2007 from the census bureau and looks like MA is getting to be more of a "bargain"....

The Tax Foundation - State and Local Tax Burdens Compared to Other U.S. States, 1970-2007
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-24-2007, 10:11 PM
 
Location: wrong planet
5,161 posts, read 11,399,563 times
Reputation: 4336
Oops, Parsec already posted it...sorry....

here is a different one, where MA is #10...
StateMaster - Total tax burden (most recent) by state
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-25-2007, 06:38 AM
 
Location: Sverige och USA
702 posts, read 3,003,759 times
Reputation: 419
It seems to me none of those take into account Massachusetts' higher median income.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-25-2007, 08:11 AM
 
Location: Sitting on a bar stool. Guinness in hand.
4,428 posts, read 6,482,294 times
Reputation: 1721
Default Jersey far worse.

MA was bad. Now that I'm stuck in NJ for right now. I appreciate MA's tax rate more. Plus government corruption is about 1000 times worse here than MA. I know that sounds impossible. But it absolutely true. I can't wait till I get back home. Whether it call taxachusettes or not it still home and miss it dearly.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-25-2007, 09:10 AM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,747,664 times
Reputation: 2961
Looks like the first link posted by katzenfreund takes into consideration MA's higher median income. We're only #28 based on state and local taxes, but after taking into account federal income taxes, we jump up to #7. I'm sure this is why all the high-income earning states complain about high taxes -- MA, NY, NJ, CT. It's not necessarily their local governments, but because they are in the 33% tax bracket for federal taxes!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top