[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by JGBigGreen

How do you avoid a tax on your home? Apparently, you move to certain parts of Alaska.

Or Alabama!

When you live in built-up areas with lots of services, taxes can be higher. Somehow those services have to be funded. Want a fire department to protect your home from burning down? Is funding that department regressive, just because it is part of property tax? Want police to keep the drug dealing and human trafficking to a dull roar next to your second home? Gee, that could be a regressive tax...

To offer a counterpoint about growing own food - I suppose I could live in a homeless encampment, but then how would I get food to survive in Alabama on a limited income without paying a tax on food that supports incentives to big business? Somehow, that seems like more of a regressive tax.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Or Alabama!

When you live in built-up areas with lots of services, taxes can be higher. Somehow those services have to be funded. Want a fire department to protect your home from burning down? Is funding that department regressive, just because it is part of property tax? Want police to keep the drug dealing and human trafficking to a dull roar next to your second home? Gee, that could be a regressive tax...

To offer a counterpoint about growing own food - I suppose I could live in a homeless encampment, but then how would I get food to survive in Alabama on a limited income without paying a tax on food that supports incentives to big business? Somehow, that seems like more of a regressive tax.

I'm on a private road I pay to maintain off a class 4 road the town refuses to maintain (they literally downgraded the road even while a dozen people were living on it, even though they keep roads with a single resident on them classified as class 3). The fire department is a volunteer department. There are no local police. It's just the state police, an hour away on most days. They refused to come out even when 40 or more drunk rednecks off-roading and partying were trespassing and threatening me a couple years ago so I doubt they will ever show up for anything I may need them for. There are no "services" here. I have no kids in the poorly ranked local school I pay out the nose to fund. Friends of mine with kids pay out of pocket to send theirs to private schools so they can get an actual education.

[JGBigGreen]

I also have a driveway off an I maintained road. The town gives me and my neighbors a 10% “discount” on our property taxes that takes this into account.

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

I'm on a private road I pay to maintain off a class 4 road the town refuses to maintain (they literally downgraded the road even while a dozen people were living on it, even though they keep roads with a single resident on them classified as class 3). The fire department is a volunteer department. There are no local police. It's just the state police, an hour away on most days. They refused to come out even when 40 or more drunk rednecks off-roading and partying were trespassing and threatening me a couple years ago so I doubt they will ever show up for anything I may need them for. There are no "services" here. I have no kids in the poorly ranked local school I pay out the nose to fund. Friends of mine with kids pay out of pocket to send theirs to private schools so they can get an actual education.

[Paul E Wannacracker]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Trying to clarify our stances, New Hampshire is considered to be ... different... in that it refused sales tax and taxes property heavily. It also has been a bastion of the right, championed by a certain influential newspaper.

Your comments are about 50 years out of date. I'd call N.H. more of a "purple" state. No, it's not as liberal (I hate the word "progressive" as a euphemism for liberal) as many of our neighbors but it's hardly a bastion of the right, and the U-L doesn't have anywhere near the influence it did when the Loebs were running it. Even in rural Coos county, most elections go pretty close to 50/50.

As far as property taxes go, I live in N.H., one of my sisters lives in Vt. Both of our homes are similar in assessed value, but her property taxes are actually a bit higher than mine. Plus she's subject to both sales and income taxes. I don't see that she gets any more for her money than I do.

I have no use for a sales tax, to me an income is the lesser evil.