Property tax

[mikester]

An increase in fair market value does not always mean an increase in property taxes.

My home was reassessed this last summer and saw an increase of $40k fair market value and my property tax bill decreased by $240.

Fair market value is only fair if everyone gets assessed at the same time using the same measurement stick and the measurement process is transparent.

Here the process is hidden, opaque, and the measurement stick changes based on you last name. The gatekeepers are protected and punish anyone asking questions why valuations differ significantly from sales data.

I don't understand how in this day and age of technology MPAC doesn't calculate property value EVERY YEAR based on sales data. It's a frigging algorithm that pulls info from a database, not rocket science. This is one example where AI could make things more timely and more fair.

 

[Biker1mike]

Between NY State on line 'See though New York' database and my town/school open book policy it is rather easy to see where and how my local tax dollars spent.
Property and school tax run just under 6% of my yearly gross. I really do not have an issue on how it is spent. The folks plowing the snow and keeping the roads repaired deserve a decent paycheck.
I have never voted no on a school budget but I am always present at town board meetings during budget talks to look for local pork barrel projects.

 

[Daferris]

They tax your dog?

Yes I have receipts from the 1860 or 70's that had $1.00 tax for a dog....

 

[mikester]

Yes I have receipts from the 1860 or 70's that had $1.00 tax for a dog....

Dog Permit (read tax) $37.00
Fire Permit $28.00
Don't get me started on all the other permit requirements...

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I'm waiting for the day neighbour to the south ($11K for 2ac+house)SEES that the northern neighbour only pays 1/4 of his taxes($2500 for 4ac ,big house, HUGE garages(10car mancave).
You can actually SEE the numbers if you go to cityhall website...
hmm fire permit, thanks...gotta make my online donation ! I KNOW the chief but still......

 

[lugbolt]

yep you have outlined why I am questioning government in general

they do things. Now I can't say that all those things is bad because they're not. Most have good intentions. However, there is almost always a positive outcome for "them" while the rest of us have to pay in one way or another. In certain areas which are generally run by certain types of people, the leadership doesn't do things that don't help themselves. Maybe it's a side effect, or maybe it's planned.

Case in point, lotteries. The thought about lotteries is that people can win money. Legalized gambling. The allure of a billion dollar winning ticket is too much for many people. However what they don't tell you is that you don't even get half of that. $460 million is still a good payout. But wait. Where's the $570 million that's left go?

Think of it this way. If one person wins $1B today, and the next time it goes high again, they win that. And then they win again. Over and over. Would it not throw up a "red flag"? That's government....they get the majority every time.

Your leaders are the clear winners in this game, they win the majority time after time after time. Yet nobody talks about it. The supporters say "tax money is important for schools and such". Sure, but the schools still suck. The roads still suck. Parks are ridden with crime. Law enforcement systems still suck. NOTHING was accomplished, except leadership roles in government got jobs and bigger paychecks which eats up most of the $570M that is left over out of that $1B "jackpot".

 

[lugbolt]

So.... on the subject of property taxes, I stopped by the tax assessors office to see what the property taxes would be for the land we just purchased.

I had to ask her to repeat the amount just to make sure i heard her correctly.

Our projected property taxes on the land are $6.00 and some change

It came to just over a buck an acre.

I did ask if she was sure she didn't miss a decimel point.

That's when she printed off the assessment and gave me a copy

My girlfriend's parents own about 90 acres up at mountain view. They have it for sale (which I cannot afford, otherwise I'd have bought it already) but when I asked why they want to sell it, he said he's tired of paying taxes on it.

His tax bill for the entire set of parcels is $48 a year. I told him I'd be happy to pay it if they're tired of it. Didn't work.

I want that property so bad I can taste it but at $500,000 asking price, there is just no possible way. Ever. He won't split it up either-already tried.

 

[newtoold]

My girlfriend's parents own about 90 acres up at mountain view. They have it for sale (which I cannot afford, otherwise I'd have bought it already) but when I asked why they want to sell it, he said he's tired of paying taxes on it.

His tax bill for the entire set of parcels is $48 a year. I told him I'd be happy to pay it if they're tired of it. Didn't work.

I want that property so bad I can taste it but at $500,000 asking price, there is just no possible way. Ever. He won't split it up either-already tried.

$500K and $48 sounds like a steal. If you say "no possible way", you are right, if you didn't, you'd be right.

No idea where this is, couldn't pay ME to live in some places.

Last house I sold was about same, $12K year taxes. Even paid off, nothing more than a renter.

 

[Russell King]

My girlfriend's parents own about 90 acres up at mountain view. They have it for sale (which I cannot afford, otherwise I'd have bought it already) but when I asked why they want to sell it, he said he's tired of paying taxes on it.

His tax bill for the entire set of parcels is $48 a year. I told him I'd be happy to pay it if they're tired of it. Didn't work.

I want that property so bad I can taste it but at $500,000 asking price, there is just no possible way. Ever. He won't split it up either-already tried.

Could you buy it and then sell off part that you don’t want?

 

[rc51stierhoff]

My girlfriend's parents own about 90 acres up at mountain view. They have it for sale (which I cannot afford, otherwise I'd have bought it already) but when I asked why they want to sell it, he said he's tired of paying taxes on it.

His tax bill for the entire set of parcels is $48 a year. I told him I'd be happy to pay it if they're tired of it. Didn't work.

I want that property so bad I can taste it but at $500,000 asking price, there is just no possible way. Ever. He won't split it up either-already tried.

Have you considered to suggest that as a reasonable dowry?

 

[RCW]

skeets - - Pennsylvania is much different than New York.

I can't tell you what you're paying for.

Welcome to New York, I get 3 property tax bills totaling ~$4,000. Our house and 6 acres are assessed for about $55,000, with a market value of about $90k - -so not anything highly valuable:

1. Town/County - pays for Sheriff and Jail, Town/County Roads, but biggest part in NYS is Medicaid. NYS is only one that puts a lot of Medicaid expenses on counties. Our county is old and poor, so it puts the biggest expense on places least able to pay for it.....ingenious on part of our State Legislature....

2. School - shouldn't be a property tax. We don't send kids to school...

3. Village - our biggest tax and shouldn't exist. I was on Village Board 30 years ago. Pays for village FD and PD, streets, etc. Our place is RIGHT at the edge of village. For $1,500, I get my Christmas Tree picked up....

 

[fried1765]

I couldn't go back to 1892, so I used the first year available for the calculation, 1913. Today based on the dollar amount of $192.45 in 1913 today would be $3,676.43. That is still quite inexpensive for 80 acres of land, and depending on what state you live in, today it might be a lot more expensive than the $3,676.43. Especially in the Northeast, which would include New Jersey and New York.

In the area where I own property (in Eastern MA.), there is no longer even any parcel of 80 acres that is privately owned.

 

[jyoutz]

I pay about $3K annually for my 2,800 square feet house. 2,400 square feet barn, and a few additional outbuildings/carports, on 20 acres. It seems reasonable to me, however we are in a rural area and don’t enjoy the same services that more developed areas do: mostly schools, fire, and Sheriff’s patrols. Road work is regularly scheduled, but not frequent.

 

[sheepfarmer]

For your entertainment I have received in the last couple of weeks an email and text from presumably a representative of my registered political party asking if I'd be interested in running for any of the local offices, and to contact this person for information on how to run. Yikes! Regrettably I am too rickety to get to meetings at night. Too opinionated too.

My neighbor ran more or less unopposed for the library board a couple years ago, and as it turned out was instrumental in stopping a scheme the township supervisor (the township is a crossroads, 2 bars, one church, one grocery store, one fire station, one post office) had to destroy the one library and take over the building by withholding funding. Funny thing he is into real estate by trade. The building had been built many years ago with private funding, and funding for librarian etc from a property tax millage, so he was out of line. Nice little library, within walking distance of the village and school, computers and wifi for kids that don't have stuff at home. Fax service, and books of course. Interlibrary loan to the big libraries. Enough of us rallied to vote for the millage renewal that the library is safe for now, thanks to my neighbor. So one ordinary person can make a difference.

 

[jajiu]

I do have a question about county property tax. And that is simply what do we get for aside from richer county employees. Really, out here in the boondocks what do you/we get? There is no fire dept, EMS, or police, the roads suck at best and why does the money stay with inthe city limits? We are required to depend on local towns for anything we need fire, EMS, or the PaSP and they could take an hour or more, to get here, been there and done that before.
Now dont get me wrong I dont mind paying my fair share, I just want to know what Im getting for my money.

I can guarantee it goes to one of 3 places, schools, schools, schools. I know where I live, no one cares about the Police, Fire Dept., Highway Dept., or any necessary town department such as the Senior Center as long as they can get a new school, ten more teachers, 4 room monitors, and ten students or less to a class.

 

[lynnmor]

I can guarantee it goes to one of 3 places, schools, schools, schools. I know where I live, no one cares about the Police, Fire Dept., Highway Dept., or any necessary town department such as the Senior Center as long as they can get a new school, ten more teachers, 4 room monitors, and ten students or less to a class.

Years ago I sat in the bleachers during my sons high school graduation and carefully read the program. It was indeed 4 students to each of the high priced help. When you add in the bus drivers, maintenance personnel and numerous employees it becomes clear why we don't own any property. I'm sure it is even worse today.
I went to a one room school that had no utilities and one teacher taught all eight grades of 40 students. Now tell me how I got so smart that I can keep all these spoiled "professionals" living in luxury?

 

[jajiu]

Years ago I sat in the bleachers during my sons high school graduation and carefully read the program. It was indeed 4 students to each of the high priced help. When you add in the bus drivers, maintenance personnel and numerous employees it becomes clear why we don't own any property. I'm sure it is even worse today.
I went to a one room school that had no utilities and one teacher taught all eight grades of 40 students. Now tell me how I got so smart that I can keep all these spoiled "professionals" living in luxury?

I had 40 students in my classes as well, and that was in the same grade. It's a wonder we learned anything according to today's standards.

 

[acruxksa]

In Anchorage Alaska, we pay a pretty hefty property tax, but no income or sales tax. I'm ok with it because I hate sales tax and like the fact that the price listed is the price I pay. That being said, we in no way get what we are paying for for our tax dollars.

We rank in the top 10 for per child spending on education and in the bottom 10 on test scores............basically we spend double the average and the resulting test scores are in the bottom %20.

 

[Kubota Newbie]

Ok boys and girls, here you go.
2/3 goes to the local schools. The County general fund only gets $243 and change per year (these are the per half year rates). Your civics lesson for the day. Understand where your taxes actually go.

 

[jajiu]

Ok boys and girls, here you go.
2/3 goes to the local schools. The County general fund only gets $243 and change per year (these are the per half year rates). Your civics lesson for the day. Understand where your taxes actually go.

That may be true in Ohio, but other states and locals differ widely. In MA, the cities and towns are responsible for the schools with state sanctioning anything the schools want. We either go for an override of the 2 1/2% tax cap or take the money from the town budget (and away from police, fire, highway, etc) to pay for it.