Property taxes! Poop

[GasGuzzler]

Texas has "high" property tax because we have no State income tax. There are percentage limits to how much the valuation can be raised each year but they get around that by increasing the percentage of value one year and the valuation the next. Every once and a while a suspect school or hospital bond will pass but rest assured the taxes on your place are going to go up each year for the most part.

 

[vito]

Here in IL the property taxes are absurdly high, maybe the highest in the nation or at least close to that. But for me, this is offset by no state income tax on my military pension and Social Security income, and with the allowed deductions, most years I pay zero state income tax. That makes the property tax more tolerable. But for the average homeowner it is really burdensome. But then again, the voters here keep electing the Democrats who keep adding new programs, new government employees, new levels of government, and continually sweeten the deal for unionized government employees.

 

[Sam Summey]

I too suffer from an increase in property taxes. We got our bill, and I don't recall the percentage. Mine aren't due until Jan 6th. I won't pay them until right before that date. No sense giving them my money too early.
Until the people get tired of constant over taxation, and vote things out & put in place a better system,, we'll keep getting screwed over.

I just got "hammered" for $1550 for our house. The County Commissioners are busting a gut to build homes and increase population in Henderson County even though the infrastructure of the county can't support the growth. They justify the tax increase because of the growth, they haven figured out that the growth should be able to support the increase cost of infrastructure. The damn roads are so "effed" up, if every vehicle hit the road at the same time the result would be a massive traffic jam.

 

[Yaworski]

My county tax is negligible. It's the school taxes that hit hard. They raise them because "education is important" and the schools still suck. Waste money on Chromebooks and 'smartboards' but yet kids can barely read or do basic arithmetic. Oh sure, there's a robotics lab but that helps about 2% of the students.

 

[Mobuck]

"Frankly once you hit 65 property tax shouldn't need to be paid."
I respectfully disagree. While older folks often don't drive as much as younger folks and don't have kids in school, the rest of the infrastructure is even more necessary. Hospital, fire, police--same needs and often more so.
My 'property' gets re-evaluated regularly to reflect appreciated values of land, equipment, stored farm produce, and livestock (I don't currently have any livestock but if I did). This is purported to help match the rising costs of operating the county, maintaining roads, and 'other' county funded expenses.
Basically: you have more, you pay more--regardless of being 30 or 80 years old. If all the county's residents over 65 didn't pay property taxes, the county would run out of money within a year.
We pay over $2500 in the county where we live (includes equipment, household, and vehicles) and $1500 just on the land in the neighboring county where Grouch Attack's farm is located (only thing there is land and fences but the tax rates are higher).

 

[GasGuzzler]

"Too much" is relative. The $1550 mentioned above is LOW. My house is 1500 ft 3-2-2 on 0.21 acre in town and is way more than $1550.

I have a friend how has 4K feet on 2 acres in a gated golf community and he pays over $25K annually in property tax. He's in the same school district my wife and I graduated from and our alma mater looks like a shopping mall and there's 3000 students ... same as the entire K-12 here.

 

[Richard76]

I own a raised ranch on 7.5 acres, a 27 acre field on a river I lease to a farmer to grow vegetables and a house in a nearby town on a 1/2 lot. Appraised value for the 3 was 270.000 paying 10,000 a year in property tax. Town just did a drive-by re-assessment and total went to 460,000. I grieved it and it dropped to 375,000 without anyone doing an inspection. I am in the process of grieving that now. I want some to tell how they came up with these numbers......

 

[vito]

As an example here in Illinois, my home is assessed by the county at $300,000 value and my property tax is $8,500. Most of this goes to the inept public school district dominated by the vile teachers' union.

 

[DGW1949]

Texas has "high" property tax because we have no State income tax. There are percentage limits to how much the valuation can be raised each year but they get around that by increasing the percentage of value one year and the valuation the next. Every once and a while a suspect school or hospital bond will pass but rest assured the taxes on your place are going to go up each year for the most part.

Having lived and worked in Texas for 50 years, I'm very familiar with Her and Her taxes...but the "no income tax" excuse is just a hoax....Here in Mississippi, my property taxes for a nicer house and 10X the acreage are half of what they were in Texas...yet we just illuminated our State income tax because it's no longer needed:


No, what Texas has is a tax 'n spend problem. Every time She discovers a surplus in the budget, it starts burning holes in Her pockets. And don't even get me started on the "it'll get rid of school taxes" lie that was told in order to get the state lottery implemented back in the Ann Richards days..LOL.

DGW

 

[brianjohn]

Here in IL the property taxes are absurdly high, maybe the highest in the nation or at least close to that...

It's absolutely ridiculous. I still feel IL is a great place w great people but the crooked folks running the state are dead set on ruining it, with taxes being just one issue.

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

No, what Texas has is a tax 'n spend problem. Every time She discovers a surplus in the budget, it starts burning holes in Her pockets. And don't even get me started on the "it'll get rid of school taxes" lie that was told in order to get the state lottery implemented back in the Ann Richards days..LOL.

DGW

Your knowledge is "back in the brown shoe days" stale.

1. By state law, Texas freezes the dollar amount of real estate tax levied on every homeowner's residence when that resident reaches 65 years old. I've benefited from that freeze for 10 years despite the value of my home more than doubling during that time.
2. Two years ago, Texas passed a law that mandated the reduction of real estate taxes on all houses. My real estate tax bill declined by over 20% from that law.
3. This year, Texas passed another law that will reduce real estate taxes yet again. The ultimate objective is to eliminate real estate taxes, and especially the real estate taxes that are a source of funding for public schools.
4. Last year, Texas passed a "Death Star" law that strictly prohibits every Texas county and city from enacting/enforcing laws that exceed the limits of state law. Voter eligibility, county and state taxation are covered by the Death Star law.

LOL back acha

 

[tazbigdog]

Having paid taxes in 4 states, we are at the highest now.

 

[Klondike Mike]

Oh boy you guys have really hit a nerve with me. I've lived in my house for 30 plus years and have never put a child through the school system. The only services that I gained from the town is snow plowing and trash pickup and my property taxes just hit $10k a year. I have a large lot for my area almost 2 acres but about two thirds is wetlands that I can't use. They don't even want me dumping grass clippings on it! When people ask how I'm liking retirement I tell them that I didn't retire I just changed jobs. My new occupation is turning social security checks into real estate tax payments! And they wonder why we call our home state Taxachusetts!

 

[Jeepnik]

Why do you folks in other states allow your government to tax you into the poor house?

 

[wproct]

All of this conversation just reinforces my opinion that you never really own property. Just stop paying your property taxes for three years and you find out who really owns it.

 

[DGW1949]

Your knowledge is "back in the brown shoe days" stale.

1. By state law, Texas freezes the dollar amount of real estate tax levied on every homeowner's residence when that resident reaches 65 years old. I've benefited from that freeze for 10 years despite the value of my home more than doubling during that time.
2. Two years ago, Texas passed a law that mandated the reduction of real estate taxes on all houses. My real estate tax bill declined by over 20% from that law.
3. This year, Texas passed another law that will reduce real estate taxes yet again. The ultimate objective is to eliminate real estate taxes, and especially the real estate taxes that are a source of funding for public schools.
4. Last year, Texas passed a "Death Star" law that strictly prohibits every Texas county and city from enacting/enforcing laws that exceed the limits of state law. Voter eligibility, county and state taxation are covered by the Death Star law.

LOL back acha

Yeah, I know what you're saying...and yeah, had I stayed, my taxes would have dropped two years ago too...That wasn't due to an actual "cut" though, it was the result in of my homestead exemption being raised, which was a one-time thing that may not happen again anytime soon. As far as property tax goes, Texas still has some of the highest....I haven't actually heard of any of Her politicians doing anything meaningful to eliminate it, except of course, talking it to death during election time. Seems to me that Dan Patrick ran on that particular platform some 20-odd years ago, and won his election...but not only is he still right there in Austin, property taxes are still being collected every year too...same old song 'n dance....Maybe if "Fear the thumb" Tuberville gets elected governor he can do something that he couldn't do as a legislator, dunno....At any rate, do get back with us if/when property taxes in Texas are actually done away with. I'll be right here waiting. Unless I'm dead by then, which I very well could be....Oh, and you have noticed that the "tax and spend" donkeycrats have been gaining ground in Texas with each new election cycle, eh?...So then there's that, just sayin'.

DGW

 

[DGW1949]

All of this conversation just reinforces my opinion that you never really own property. Just stop paying your property taxes for three years and you find out who really owns it.

Yes you are correct....All that paying for property here in the "Land of the Free" actually buys you is the privilege to occupy it for as long as you keep paying the yearly rent. Anything else is an illusion.....That is the bottom line to this whole discussion.

DGW

 

[Mobuck]

"you never really own property. Just stop paying your property taxes for three years and you find out who really owns it."
Do you utilize any amenities/services provided by the entity to whom you pay those taxes?

 

[Jeepnik]

There are currently 23 states with initiative process. Two other have a referendum process. And one Mississippi had it but the politicians got it declared unconstitutional because the number of districts went from 4 to 5 (talk about an obviously stolen right).
A few others have it just for state constitutional amendments.
So in less than half the states do the citizens have full self determination in deciding on how they are governed.

The problem is with a two party system it keeps the citizens divided enough to prevent its effective use.

 

[DGW1949]

"you never really own property. Just stop paying your property taxes for three years and you find out who really owns it."
Do you utilize any amenities/services provided by the entity to whom you pay those taxes?

You mean like sending our children to what passes as a public school these days?...or the maintenance of roads and bridges which BTW are also supported by vehicle licensing fees...or perhaps you're talking about the use of toll roads, which are actually taxed more than once and in more than one way?...In any case, there's always more than one way to skin a cat, so no amenity that you can name requires a property tax.....Do you know that some people in this Country even have to pay a city property tax?...yeah, that's a fact. And never mind that they are already paying that same city for water, sewer, trash pick up, gas and/or electricity, and sometimes just to park next to a curb....shesh, gimmi a break.

DGW

 

[GasGuzzler]

I pay trash, sewer, water, electricity, road/bridge tax, hospital tax, and college tax that are separate from my county and school taxes. So what are my county property taxes paying for? Well, I live within the city limits so it's not the Sheriff Department, we have city police and a DPS office. I guess I am paying for the fire trucks...wait, those are city owned. The ambulance service is County. Great. Thousands per year for an ambulance I will have to pay for out of pocket anyway but only if I use it. The school tax goes to pay for free breakfast and lunch plus "education" in a school district that is 66% non-native.

My wife does use the library.

Why do you folks in other states allow your government to tax you into the poor house?

Says the guy with no location in his profile.

 

[Mobuck]

I didn't make any comments about 'QUALITY' of the services provided.
Don't beech about schools when the school boards are ELECTED by voters within the district. No kidding, as GasGuzzler comments, a big share of school expense is supporting the entitlement class (not the issue in discussion here).
Road maintenance is a factor of whatever county supervision you have--ours is a CLASS A cluster flap. Also a result of local elections of county commissioners. Two primary highways in the county (one north/south and one east/west). Other paved state roads are 'farm to market' with minimal maintenance (also a result of elected state representatives sending the majority of state road tax money to big cities).
We just got stuck with another tax to support the only hospital in the county. It's primary purpose is to serve the entitlement group and the immigrants working at the pork plant. Anyone with better means (more money/better insurance) goes elsewhere or anything requiring higher level emergency care gets a helo ride 150 miles to a REAL hospital.
City taxes? I can't give an opinion cause I live out in the sticks but again, there's a price to be paid for the convenience(?) of living in a town and most of those taxes are approved by ELECTED representatives of the citizens.

 

[GasGuzzler]

There does not have to be a cost to some of these conveniences that exist whether or not we want them to and no matter who is elected. And it's not that simple ... just elect someone else. There has to be a someone else but there rarely is. I really don't think running for every office so government works properly is feasible. And elected officials could not redo an entire system in one term even if they wanted to. It's all to ingrained to start over. This is the result of a two-party system. Took a long time to get here but here we are.

 

[Mobuck]

Well, I don't disagree with that BUT every service has a cost and even though one doesn't need/use those services, the 'availability' of those services is part of the price. I voted against the 'hospital tax' I mentioned but it was a phart in a tornado because 61% of the voters live in the county seat town and generally control any vote related decision.
A few years back, I offered to 'manage' the county road and bridge maintenance crew for a flat per month fee plus 10% of the dollars saved, a county vehicle and cell phone, and an iPAD. I guaranteed that I would reduce waste/cost per mile of county road and increase productivity of the workers. FLATLY DENIED. Commissioners were concerned that their relatives/friends would lose their county job or not get the 'super service' that was a perk of being a friend/relative of a commissioner. Not much one can do when those elected by the majority are failures. Small town politics really suck.

 

[Jeepnik]

I pay trash, sewer, water, electricity, road/bridge tax, hospital tax, and college tax that are separate from my county and school taxes. So what are my county property taxes paying for? Well, I live within the city limits so it's not the Sheriff Department, we have city police and a DPS office. I guess I am paying for the fire trucks...wait, those are city owned. The ambulance service is County. Great. Thousands per year for an ambulance I will have to pay for out of pocket anyway but only if I use it. The school tax goes to pay for free breakfast and lunch plus "education" in a school district that is 66% non-native.

My wife does use the library.


Says the guy with no location in his profile.

It's pretty well known I live in SoCal. My location listed for back well over a decade, maybe two. It was a response to a long ago thread. I live on a hilltop near the beach.

 

[GasGuzzler]

Pretty well known You're famous!

 

[Jeepnik]

Pretty well known You're famous!

Then I am doing something wrong

 

[Ale-8(1)]

I don't think we should be too surprised at the increase in property taxes when we consider the astronomical increases in "property values" as reflected in the real estate transactions we see these days. This doesn't justify these tax increases, but it surely explains why they occur. Governments want "their share" of all this vastly-increased "wealth".

 

[Joe Reilly]

Pretty well known You're famous!

Famous or infamous, you still get your name in the paper.

 

[DGW1949]

We could yack about this until the cows come home, but the fact remains that under the present system, folks do not actually own the property that they've paid for...They only own the privilege of occupying it for as long as the yearly rent gets paid...And that is what needs fixed.

DGW