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I have no kids. If I have kids, I intend on homeschooling them. I was homeschooled. School boards can't handle cash correctly. I shouldn't have to pay for my neighbors kids. Yet I am forced to pay? What is this? It feels like I am in some horrible socialist-communist state.
Also, if I buy property, why should I pay the rest of the things associated with property tax on a yearly basis and not just pay it in full when purchasing, or have it included with a mortgage? Why am I constantly obligated to pay property tax every year? What would I do if I wanted to retire?
This is the federal tax code too. Those who don't pay federal taxes get the most benefit. Those who pay the most get the least benefit. No how do you feel when those poor people shout "pay your fair share" when they don't pay a dime.
I have no kids. If I have kids, I intend on homeschooling them. I was homeschooled. School boards can't handle cash correctly. I shouldn't have to pay for my neighbors kids. Yet I am forced to pay? What is this? It feels like I am in some horrible socialist-communist state.
Also, if I buy property, why should I pay the rest of the things associated with property tax on a yearly basis and not just pay it in full when purchasing, or have it included with a mortgage? Why am I constantly obligated to pay property tax every year? What would I do if I wanted to retire?
I used to live in an area where real estate taxes were high. When I bought a new home I bought in a lower tax area. The high tax area got $0.00 taxes from me and the low tax area got my tax money. This is what happens when politicians think raising taxes is the answer to everything. People move out and the greedy politicians don't get anything.
Even after you retire you'll pay for other peoples kids education. So if you do buy property take the real estate taxes into consideration. Because of those taxes you'll pay higher monthly payments while you work and after you pay off the mortgage you'll still pay them. If you buy into a high tax area it will make it hard in retirement. I know people who lost their house because they couldn't pay the taxes.
I used to live in an area where real estate taxes were high. When I bought a new home I bought in a lower tax area. The high tax area got $0.00 and the low tax area got my tax money. This is what happens when politicians think raising taxes is the answer to everything. People move out and the greedy politicians don't get anything.
Even after you retire you'll pay for other peoples kids education. So if you do buy property take the real estate taxes into consideration. Because of those taxes you'll pay higher monthly payments while you work and after you pay off the mortgage you'll still pay them. If you buy into a high tax area it will make it hard in retirement. I know people who lost their house because they couldn't pay the taxes.
Our property taxes are very low.....and our land with our homestead....we get 100% back.
Our township has no fire department and no police.....we call the state police or, county but, it takes a long time for them to get here.
A nearby area is near a river....the state made them put in a sewer system....many older people did sell cheap or, lose their homes.
I have no kids. If I have kids, I intend on homeschooling them. I was homeschooled. School boards can't handle cash correctly. I shouldn't have to pay for my neighbors kids. Yet I am forced to pay? What is this? It feels like I am in some horrible socialist-communist state.
Also, if I buy property, why should I pay the rest of the things associated with property tax on a yearly basis and not just pay it in full when purchasing, or have it included with a mortgage? Why am I constantly obligated to pay property tax every year? What would I do if I wanted to retire?
Property rights are a joke. You don't owe anything. You pay the government a fee once or twice a year for the right to use the governments land.
Our property taxes are very low.....and our land with our homestead....we get 100% back.
Our township has no fire department and no police.....we call the state police or, county but, it takes a long time for them to get here.
A nearby area is near a river....the state made them put in a sewer system....many older people did sell cheap or, lose their homes.
Yes that can happen. It has happened to my brother. Fortunately he was smart to have money on the side for the unforeseen. That's the problem, people get money and they think good times will last forever or that the unforeseen will not popup. They max out and then they lose. I used to be one of those types, looking back I was teetering on the brink of disaster and didn't even know it. Thank god I grew up.
Have neither the time or interest to wade through almost fifty pages of responses so not sure if this was covered already, but.....
Purpose of property/real estate taxes is to get at wealth since that often is where it resides. Income can be managed in such ways to lower or even avoid taxation (where imposed) but land isn't going anywhere.
Going back to old Europe and the UK taxes on land and assets are what often funded state/royal coffers. Though many would claim the land holding classes didn't pay nearly their fair share and as such this was one of the causes of no small numbers of revolutions; to those that had to make those payments it was another matter.
Other reasons for taxing land/property is to prevent the creation of an aristocracy class where a bulk of a country's wealth (in terms of land) is controlled by a few persons or families. This is very important because historically it has been the land owning classes that controlled or had great influence on government with often disastrous results.
The Irish potato famine for instance was made much worse by the laws designed to protect land owners (the Corn Laws of the UK), and the desire of that class in Ireland to have profits over charity. There was plenty of food in Ireland including beef and sheep, it was just being raised and exported to England and elsewhere because that is where the landowner's made their money.
Even today in modern England it is worth noting the top five wealthy individuals/families are all prominent landowners. This list includes HM, The Queen, and the Duke of Westminster. The latter for all intents and purposes owns much of prime London real estate.
If you want to see the equalizing effects of property taxes again look to Britain.
Those following Downton Abbey are well aware that property, asset and death taxes are a recurring major theme of this period drama, and for good reason. Post WWI Britain was basically broke and needed revenue; it went to where as the man said the money was; the great land owning/estate classes. Used to paying around two percent, these persons now faced combined taxes of five or more percent. Then there were the death duties on large estates. Rates were raised gradually pre-WWII and then again after that event as well.
The effects on the British aristocracy from all these wealth taxes were felt at once and only grow. Great estates that took generations to build up were broken apart. Land sold, great homes either sold, donated or simply had their roofs taken off and allowed to fall into ruin if not torn down. The contents of these great estates such as artwork and other valuables that took ages to collect were often sold off to be scattered to museums and or private collections around the world. Things got so bad that some in British government and local areas began to think it had gone too far. This is where the idea of the National Trust came into existence.
In the United States taxes on land/property often reflected the economic base of a region. In the industrial North where there is a vast and diversified tax base, rates on property range from middling to high. OTOH in the South and parts of the Mid-West where agriculture was and or still is one of the dominate parts of the economy you find property/land taxes rather low in comparison.
For the South in particular property taxes still often reflect land is something a family builds up and passes on. This is natural since ever since the days of great plantations the more land one has the more there is for crops, livestock, cotton, etc... In order to keep what was often a family enterprise going Big Daddy needs to pass his land to his heirs without onerous taxes that may cause breaking up of the estate in order to pay.
Property rights are a joke. You don't owe anything. You pay the government a fee once or twice a year for the right to use the governments land.
And...that's what's wrong with taxing property. That is what gives wide justification to declaring that tax unconstitutional. I have faith that will happen when we citizens stand up and say...enough is enough!
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Other reasons for taxing land/property is to prevent the creation of an aristocracy class where a bulk of a country's wealth (in terms of land) is controlled by a few persons or families. This is very important because historically it has been the land owning classes that controlled or had great influence on government with often disastrous results.
That is a simple fix. One's home and place of business (each a single piece of property) is exempt from taxation. Just holding property is not exempt; however, instead of declaring "property tax" I would term the tax based on "services rendered" such as fire, police, sewer. School tax should be a totally separate tax and only imposed on those with children attending same. The actual "needed" funding for actually "needed" government services should be born by those needing the service. Our homes and business property's must be free from government. We must have homes in which to live and places to conduct business which upholds our economy. However, where the taxes are imposed must be in a fashion upon which each citizen may determine what he/she can afford. That's why sales tax at any government levels is the most desirable. If you can't afford to pay the tax you are in control of making that decision...not the government.
It can be refined into a good system that does not ruin our economy nor threaten our residence. Today's systems are totally anti-productive on all levels and on all people.
And...that's what's wrong with taxing property. That is what gives wide justification to declaring that tax unconstitutional. I have faith that will happen when we citizens stand up and say...enough is enough!
That is a simple fix. One's home and place of business (each a single piece of property) is exempt from taxation. Just holding property is not exempt; however, instead of declaring "property tax" I would term the tax based on "services rendered" such as fire, police, sewer. School tax should be a totally separate tax and only imposed on those with children attending same. The actual "needed" funding for actually "needed" government services should be born by those needing the service. Our homes and business property's must be free from government. We must have homes in which to live and places to conduct business which upholds our economy. However, where the taxes are imposed must be in a fashion upon which each citizen may determine what he/she can afford. That's why sales tax at any government levels is the most desirable. If you can't afford to pay the tax you are in control of making that decision...not the government.
It can be refined into a good system that does not ruin our economy nor threaten our residence. Today's systems are totally anti-productive on all levels and on all people.
As one recalls the USC gives the federal government and by extension state's as well wide leeway in the matter of taxation. Thus explain how and why property taxes are "unconstitutional".
Most of what many call property taxes are rates based upon assessed value, something governments have been doing since Europe was ruled by monarchs. Other taxes are based upon some sort of trigger (transfer, death, sale, etc.. ) where again rates are normally based upon value.
I have no kids. If I have kids, I intend on homeschooling them. I was homeschooled. School boards can't handle cash correctly. I shouldn't have to pay for my neighbors kids. Yet I am forced to pay? What is this? It feels like I am in some horrible socialist-communist state.
Also, if I buy property, why should I pay the rest of the things associated with property tax on a yearly basis and not just pay it in full when purchasing, or have it included with a mortgage? Why am I constantly obligated to pay property tax every year? What would I do if I wanted to retire?
There are a number of cities who get enough money from other sources that they don't need to institute any property tax system. The town I grew up in was one of those, but it looks like property taxes have been instituted since I left 20+ years ago. There's also Stafford, TX, which hasn't had property taxes since 1995. There are a number of ideas being kicked around by different states to try to get rid of property taxes entirely. I don't know if every city could do it, but clearly some have gotten rid of property taxes.
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