Pesonal Property Tax? (Mission: sales, 2013, rent)

[ArmyWife94e]

If it were always the same, then we could tell the OP exactly how much it was going to be, but I can only say it will be between $45 and $75

If I can get away from the DMV without having to drop $400+ dollars a year then I am happy! LOL

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

Uhhh, the yearly registration costs for wife's car (a 2000) and mine (2005) are different and both those numbers are different every year and different from than the rates I paid on other cars I own, so I'll take your word that they are a registration and not a tax, but it seems to me it's a distinction without a difference.

If it were always the same, then we could tell the OP exactly how much it was going to be, but I can only say it will be between $45 and $75.

If the fee is not related to the value of the property, it is not a property tax. It is that simple.

Not sure where you live, but the registration fee should have been the same. You might look to see why they aren't.

Texas does charge higher fees for very heavy vehicles.

Registration Fees

[losttechnician]

Originally Posted by ETex2

The primary type of personal property tax in Texas is business personal property (BPP), or property such as vehicles, computers, desks, etc. used to generate income. The state changed the law in 2002 (I think). Before then it was common for certain cities to assess a tax on vehicles, and some cities still have a right to tax personal vehicles but only if they passed certain laws or ordinances before 2002. It gets a bit muddled, but right now, very few if any cities assess personal property taxes that are not BPP.

I don't know if the PRIMARY type of personal property tax in Texas is BPP.... I think most cities/counties collect a large portion of their taxes from individuals with tangible taxable property, not engaged in the generation of income. I don't know anything about the BPP, but do know I pay property tax on my home, and goodness knows it is not used to generate income.

Also, I know for a fact that Bailey County Appraisal district collects property tax on personal vehicles less than 10 years old, on behalf of the taxing entities in the county. Lived there, paid that.

[High_Plains_Retired]

Originally Posted by losttechnician

Also, I know for a fact that Bailey County Appraisal district collects property tax on personal vehicles less than 10 years old, on behalf of the taxing entities in the county. Lived there, paid that.

I was in Muleshoe the other day and a local fellow asked me how to get rid of Bailey County's property tax on POVs. I told him he probably needed to speak to his city councilman. It would probably take some sort of petition to get it on the ballot but I didn't know. I was told by a realtor at Littlefield a few years ago that Lamb County once had the POV tax but they voted it out.

[War Beagle]

Originally Posted by TX75007

Deregulation has dropped the price of wholesale electricity. I pay just over 4 cents now when prior I paid close to 9. This is for data center power.

In any industry there are really three jobs - production, distribution, and billing/sales. Deregulation in TX broke these three parts apart from each other. What deregulation did was take the vertical silo and break it into three segments.

Oncor, which handles much of the distribution, is still heavily regulated.

Production is overseen by ERCOT. Production is still regulated.

And Billing/sales is what most people think of as the market.

Most retail contracts for home power (billing/sales) have to bear the costs of the customer service - call centers, bad debt, collections, etc. This is a large cost. It is a messy business like all consumer retail is. Each three minute call in is several $$ in cost. Postage, mailing, printing - more $$. It adds up!

In the past, the businesses customers were highly profitable because they paid their bills and needed little customer service. With deregulation, large consumers of power who paid their bill on time every time cut out the middleman and used brokers to buy their power. This shifted the messy retail costs off of them and onto the retail consumer.

The few locations in the state that still are self-contained have captured large customers and can still set rates based on a cost formula that is not a real true picture of the actual costs of servicing those customers. The retail consumers also benefit from having the distribution costs shared by the large consumers. And they also benefit from being able to set long term contracts for power from the Texas grid - which in many cases is far lower than their own generating costs. One other factor is that some locations have little to no population growth so there is no need to invest and their current system is already paid for.

The cost of wholesale power in TX has been a HUGE boost for business and the resulting jobs.

The difference with the electric industry and other industries is that two out of the three steps in the process to getting the product to the consumer are virtual monopolies. In other industries, a retailer can choose their manufacturer and transporter/distributor and then the consumer can choose the retailer and product brand. The customer has choice in both the manufacturer (brand) and retailer, though admittedly not for the distributor. However, the large number of companies that ship and transport adds competition to the mix that should place downward pressure on price and upward pressure on efficiencies. This is not the case with electric where the only competition is at the retail end.

I do agree with you that deregulation has been a huge boon for businesses. It allows them to negotiate extensively for what they pay for electricity. But that positive for businesses does not directly translate to residential consumers since there are many of them versus one large business that is relatively easy to negotiate with. There are very, very few people I have spoken with, regardless of ideology, who feel that deregulation is clearly superior for the residential consumer. This is anecdotal so it should be taken with a grain of salt, but virtually everyone I know and have discussed the matter with would prefer to deal with one company with consistent rates.

[ETex2]

Originally Posted by losttechnician

I don't know if the PRIMARY type of personal property tax in Texas is BPP.... I think most cities/counties collect a large portion of their taxes from individuals with tangible taxable property, not engaged in the generation of income. I don't know anything about the BPP, but do know I pay property tax on my home, and goodness knows it is not used to generate income.

Also, I know for a fact that Bailey County Appraisal district collects property tax on personal vehicles less than 10 years old, on behalf of the taxing entities in the county. Lived there, paid that.

As an appraiser for 30 years, and a sideline as a property tax consultant for 21 years, I can tell you that it is the PRIMARY type of personal property tax in Texas. BPP tax consulting is a huge business for certain consultants, attorneys, accountants, and appraisers (including my best friend who I brought into this business 20 years ago).

[losttechnician]

Originally Posted by ETex2

As an appraiser for 30 years, and a sideline as a property tax consultant for 21 years, I can tell you that it is the PRIMARY type of personal property tax in Texas. BPP tax consulting is a huge business for certain consultants, attorneys, accountants, and appraisers (including my best friend who I brought into this business 20 years ago).

Educate me here. Please understand I am not challenging you, I really do want to reduce my ignorance here. Thanks in advance for my chance to learn here.

When you say "PRIMARY", are you saying that more money is collected from BPP than from tax on real property? Or more people are affected? Or that more revenue is generated from the business surrounding the collection of BPP? Is it a state tax, or levied by the local appraisal districts on behalf of their taxing entities?

Understand my point of view, as I have only been on the paying end of ad valorem taxes on real property, and have limited knowledge of the process of BPP taxation in the state.

[ETex2]

Originally Posted by losttechnician

Educate me here. Please understand I am not challenging you, I really do want to reduce my ignorance here. Thanks in advance for my chance to learn here.

When you say "PRIMARY", are you saying that more money is collected from BPP than from tax on real property? Or more people are affected? Or that more revenue is generated from the business surrounding the collection of BPP? Is it a state tax, or levied by the local appraisal districts on behalf of their taxing entities?

Understand my point of view, as I have only been on the paying end of ad valorem taxes on real property, and have limited knowledge of the process of BPP taxation in the state.

When I say "primary", I mean that BPP is the largest source of PERSONAL property tax since very few cities assess private personal property any more, and it's typically limited to vehicles. More money is collected from real property than personal property. BPP tax is collected just like real property taxes by the various taxing authorities, and local appraisal districts in each county determine the assessed values. Most districts have separate appraisers for real property and BPP. Large companies will have their accountants submit renditions, essentially estimates of value, for their BPP to the appraisal districts every year.

[losttechnician]

Originally Posted by ETex2

When I say "primary", I mean that BPP is the largest source of PERSONAL property tax since very few cities assess private personal property any more, and it's typically limited to vehicles. More money is collected from real property than personal property. BPP tax is collected just like real property taxes by the various taxing authorities, and local appraisal districts in each county determine the assessed values. Most districts have separate appraisers for real property and BPP. Large companies will have their accountants submit renditions, essentially estimates of value, for their BPP to the appraisal districts every year.

Alright, I am thinking you are splitting up personal property and personally owned REAL property here right?

If so, methinks my lame brain might have a handle on the thought.

Thanks for the answers, btw.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by losttechnician

Alright, I am thinking you are splitting up personal property and personally owned REAL property here right?

If so, methinks my lame brain might have a handle on the thought.

Thanks for the answers, btw.

Did you miss this part...

Originally Posted by ETex2

The primary type of personal property tax in Texas is business personal property (BPP), or property such as vehicles, computers, desks, etc. used to generate income. The state changed the law in 2002 (I think). Before then it was common for certain cities to assess a tax on vehicles, and some cities still have a right to tax personal vehicles but only if they passed certain laws or ordinances before 2002. It gets a bit muddled, but right now, very few if any cities assess personal property taxes that are not BPP.