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I grew up in NC, but have been gone since I turned 18. It's a beautiful state and I love visiting and I want to move back, but the taxes are oppressive.
4. Annual vehicle tax (your car, and having to pay tax on it annually...priceless)
5. Sales tax (paying tax on your stuff, so you can get taxed for owning it later)
Tell me those aren't regressive and oppressive taxes, on a region of the country that has had historically low wages and low employment levels. Basically over taxing people that can't afford it.
So this is why I left at 18 and have not been back permanently and can't move back, just too many taxes.
Sorry NC, especially Asheville, but I'm moving back, but I'm only going as far as East Tennessee. That way I can visit my sister, but I don't have to pay those expensive taxes.
My mom moved to TN 2 years ago and my granny is moving to SC next year due in part to the high cost of living in NC and the high taxes.
tony- I know what you say
every one thinks that it is cheap to live in the south- but when they get there- its not as cheap as they think- and the services stink.
There is not a tax on your personal household items - there is one on business property (for example, computers and furniture used by a business), but not on your silverware, TV, etc that isn't used for a business.
I think it's just a baseless assumption by many that the tax burden in the South should be the lowest in the nation. In reality, North Carolina's taxes are only average compared to the other 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nothing special going on here, good or bad.
Even within the state of NC, the local tax (county & city) burden varies greatly from one area to another.
You can see how your current home state's overall taxation ranks here.
Those taxes you listed sound like the taxes of most states. With the exception of personal property. (which does not exist) I came from the NE and was paying over $4,000yearly for property and car taxes. In NC for the same things I pay less than $1,000. That extra $3,000 pays for a really nice family vacation every year!
I suppose the amount of taxes could be percieved differently by each person. I know that from where I came from, the taxes here are a blessing! Someone else may not see it that way though.
Location: Charlotte,NC, US, North America, Earth, Alpha Quadrant,Milky Way Galaxy
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I think when most non-natives people talk about lower cost of living or lower taxes, the underlying reference is property taxes. Combined sales tax which can be 7% is pretty steep, but not the worst I've seen. I did a rough property tax comparison on what I paid in taxes in Boston $(about $5K). With the tax savings I can by a brand new $25K car (or put that towards a new car) every 5 years (I even accounted for steep appreciation).
I think it's just a baseless assumption by many that the tax burden in the South should be the lowest in the nation. In reality, North Carolina's taxes are only average compared to the other 50 states and the District of Columbia. Nothing special going on here, good or bad.
I couldn't agree more. NC's average in that regard, and that's just fine with me.
Personally, I'd be just as weary of a state that had really low taxes as I would in one with really high taxes. If a state's taxes are extremely low, I'd worry greatly about the standard of living there: crappy education, terrible roads, slack law enforcement, poor environmental protection, etc etc. Not someplace I'd want to live in!
Yeah, I find people complaining about taxes where ever they live. The funny thing is they usually are the loudest ones complaining about the bad schools and messed up roads too. You really can't win with taxes. It is a fact of life.
tony- I know what you say
every one thinks that it is cheap to live in the south- but when they get there- its not as cheap as they think- and the services stink.
shhhhh..... you'll upset them! They have to believe that everything here is cheaper and easier than it is wherever they are coming from (usually NY or NJ). Don't you know the rules?
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prop tax
