holy heart attack, tax assesments?

[Toasted Coastie]

My tax assesment went up on my house, this info is publicly available on www.gonashua.com. You can look up anyones assessment online by address or name on this webpage, so it's not like I'm giving away my private info. Anyone car to share? Is yours as bad as mine? Is it better?

2004 to 2005 Tax Comparison

Assessment / Tax
2004 $274,600.00 / $5,450.81
2005 $379,100.00 / $6,198.29
Difference $104,500.00 / $747.47
% Difference 38.06% / 13.71%

Is this going on everywhere? This is unbelievable!

[RockyMtnRay]

My property taxes for '05 were only $740. That's on a 4 level, 2100 sq foot, 3 bdrm, 3 bath home w 2 car garage, fireplace, etc. located on a 1/4 acre nicely landscaped lot in a good suburban area! House was built in 1979 so has all the modern amenities and is in excellent condition...I'm the original owner. Assessment is around $180,000 (I paid $65K for it when I bought it in 1980).

After I pay off the mortgage next year (less than $15K left...woohoo ), I calculate my monthly total for taxes, insurance, and maintenance will average less $200 per month.

The house is well insulated and pretty air tight so utilities are quite reasonable as well...in the winter, heating only adds about $80 per month to my natural gas baseline; in the summer, using the AC only adds about $60 per month to my electric baseline.

For a variety of reasons, Colorado (and especially Colorado Springs) has an exceedingly low personal property tax rate and way below average utilities costs.

[Toasted Coastie]

Originally Posted by RockyMtnRay

My property taxes for '05 were only $740. That's on a 4 level, 2100 sq foot, 3 bdrm, 3 bath home w 2 car garage, fireplace, etc. located on a 1/4 acre nicely landscaped lot in a good suburban area! House was built in 1979 so has all the modern amenities and is in excellent condition...I'm the original owner. Assessment is around $180,000 (I paid $65K for it when I bought it in 1980).

After I pay off the mortgage next year (less than $15K left...woohoo ), I calculate my monthly total for taxes, insurance, and maintenance will average less $200 per month.

The house is well insulated and pretty air tight so utilities are quite reasonable as well...in the winter, heating only adds about $80 per month to my natural gas baseline; in the summer, using the AC only adds about $60 per month to my electric baseline.

For a variety of reasons, Colorado (and especially Colorado Springs) has an exceedingly low personal property tax rate and way below average utilities costs.

I should have described my house. 2800sq ft raised ranch, oversized 2 car heated garage, finished basement (on street level with garage) on 1/4 acre in Nashua Nh. Built in 2003 for 190K. No mortrgage (nice huh?).

[Rlockyer]

This is why we passed Proposition 13 in California.
Property values were cranking in the 70s, along with inflation in general, and people who had been in their homes for years and on fixed incomes were being forced to sell due to the increased property taxes.

Proposition 13 limits tax increases to no more than 1% per year, regardless of assessed value.

The libs have been doing everything they can to get it repealed.

[akauth]

Originally Posted by Rlockyer

This is why we passed Proposition 13 in California.
Property values were cranking in the 70s, along with inflation in general, and people who had been in their homes for years and on fixed incomes were being forced to sell due to the increased property taxes.

Proposition 13 limits tax increases to no more than 1% per year, regardless of assessed value.

The libs have been doing everything they can to get it repealed.

What's going to be interesting is what's going to happen to California's (and the rest of the country) housing prices if Congress get's it's way with tax reform. To take away the tax deduction for mortgages over $300,000. You can't even buy a 1 bedroom/1 bath condo here in California for less than $400,000. So all the high income states are pretty much going to pay the price of that deduction removal.

I guess they figure that the bulk of the country benefits because the median house cost across the US is less than $300,000. So the taxpayers on both coasts who pay most of the taxes are going to get nailed.

But the good news is that doing that will be the tradeoff to remove the ATM tax for the highest tax payers. That ATM is a bugger if you've got a lot of tax favored investments.

As much as I'd hate to see the mortgage deduction removed - especially since it will directly affect me, we're going to have to start footing the bill for the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina and the other crazy spending we're doing. Like they say, no pain, no gain......



Alan

[DJ]

Originally Posted by akauth

What's going to be interesting is what's going to happen to California's (and the rest of the country) housing prices if Congress get's it's way with tax reform. To take away the tax deduction for mortgages over $300,000. You can't even buy a 1 bedroom/1 bath condo here in California for less than $400,000. So all the high income states are pretty much going to pay the price of that deduction removal.

I guess they figure that the bulk of the country benefits because the median house cost across the US is less than $300,000. So the taxpayers on both coasts who pay most of the taxes are going to get nailed.

But the good news is that doing that will be the tradeoff to remove the ATM tax for the highest tax payers. That ATM is a bugger if you've got a lot of tax favored investments.

As much as I'd hate to see the mortgage deduction removed - especially since it will directly affect me, we're going to have to start footing the bill for the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina and the other crazy spending we're doing. Like they say, no pain, no gain......



Alan

Yup, that's an expected recommendation (i.e. a "leak") by the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. Evidently all we really "need" is yet more tinkering with rates and deductions, and yet another few thousand pages of regulations, an all will be well with the Federal Tax World.

Keep in mind that it's only a "leak" in that the Panel hasn't yet issued its recommendations. Go see their web site at http://www.taxreformpanel.gov/press/index.shtml. All they have "issued" so far is notices of meetings.

Perhaps you might want to reconsider the "Fair Tax". It has gained considerable and quite vocal support since "The Fair Tax Book", by Neal Boortz and John Linder became available and made the NYT bestseller list for some time. It's a short, easy read. They make a very good (not perfect, just very good) case for it.

Members of Congress are supporting it in greater numbers simply because their constituents support it. If you support it, as I do, you should send your Congressman and Senators each a short, polite letter in which you urge them to sponsor the pending legislation if they don't already, and at least support the legislation and vote for it if they don't sponsor it.

We've discussed the issue before in this forum, but it's worth looking at again because of the implications of this "leak" by the President's Panel. Yet more tinkering with the current federal tax system won't fix it, but wholesale replacement with something better will fix it.

[Toasted Coastie]

ok, I didn't start this thread to start another political thread. I just wanted to see who pays more or less.

[akauth]

Originally Posted by Toasted Coastie

ok, I didn't start this thread to start another political thread. I just wanted to see who pays more or less.

I sure like the rates that Rocky Mountain Ray pays! That's for sure. I don't know how you can pay less than that.

alan

[KLINDSEY]

I have not gotten this years taxes as of yet they will be mailed at the end of the month(October). But my property was just reappraised in 2004 so it should be real close or the same as last year.
House built 2001 1850 sq ft ranch full basement, (not finished yet 50%) two car garage, 1.25 ac. and apprasied @ 235,000.00, 1855.0 a yr. That seems fair for the age of the home and inflation.
Kevin

[Toasted Coastie]

Another thing about the state of NH is, there is no state income tax, and the only way the state gets revenue is through real estate tax, food/board tax and vehicle registration. So we get nailed on the real estate tax for state and local, nailed on the vehicle registration (local) and I think the meals tax is like 5.5%.

[Rlockyer]

Ca standard prop tax is either 1.5% or 2% of assessed value.
Income tax is about 10%
Sales tax runs 7.75% to 8.25% depending on the county
Vehicle Registration Fee is $31
CHP Fee is $9
Smog Abatement Fee is $12
Reflectorized Plate Fee is $1
Weight Fee varies by unladen weight... $204 for 6k-7k, $360 for 10k

Vehicle Licensing Fee is really screwed. It's based on the value of your vehicle when sold, and decreases by 10% per year. I wish my vehicles only devalued 10% per year. My '04 RAV4's VLF was $398 for 2005, BUT there's a VLF "offset" that Gov. Wilson enacted due to a budget surplus that reduced it by $269.
Gov. Davis repealed it and we recalled him

[mustang67408]

2004 to 2005 Tax Comparison

Assessment / Tax
2004 $100,244.00 / $1,876
2005 $143,973 / $2,998


This is a 3100 sq.ft home, 2 story, 3 car garage (900sq.ft).
No Gas all electric.
Property is 1 acre.
No state income tax.
Just appriased (Sept 2005) at $700,000
I bought it in 1992 for $285K on a 15yr.

[KLS]

That NH tax rate is really high.

The property tax system is in serious trouble. It was started generations ago when folks main wealth was in property. That is not the case, and many folks now find themselves property "rich" and cash poor. This is made worse in many states, like Washington, where there is a limit on property tax increases. (Washington has no income tax, moderately high property tax, 8+% sales tax, and a stupid gross revenues tax on businesses. Colorado has a low property tax and other taxes are high.)

My feeling is that property tax should only pay for protection of property. Money must be raised for all the other services we want, schools, roads, libraries, criminal justice, parks, etc., etc. I feel that income taxes are the best way to raise the needed money. You pay (and grumble) when you have money, and you don't pay when you don't have it...low income, retired, laid-off, etc.

California's Prop 13 was flawed by design. When property sells it is revalued for tax. Commercial property sells much less often than personal residential property, so the effect over the years is that commercial property owners pay much less of a share of total property tax than residential owners. Also, people in identical houses may pay greatly different amounts of property tax depending on how long they've been in the house. Folks should pay equal taxes on equal property.

The right way to control the level of tax is by electing representatives who will do things the way the majority of the voters want. Not by flawed measures like Prop 13, then subsequent votes that require spending but don't provide the money to fund that spending.

I'm in favor of removing just about every deduction and exemption from personal income tax and lower tax rates at the same time. Business tax should be labeled a "profits" tax and greatly simplified and enforced, even on the businesses that have hired Republican lobbyists who have make campaign contributions to Tom DeLay and his friends.


Ken

[wylcat]

well, I live in a great state!!! atleast when it comes to taxes and cost of living. I was kinda upset though when I recieved my assessment this year and it went up 17% from last years, that is until I read what you are stuck with T-C granted mine went up to $507.24 it still better than a $750 increase.

[matttom]

Welcome to Long Island!!

Property tax 8400$ (On 2100 sq ft. house 50x150 property, built in 1938, updated 2004)

Sales tax 8.75%

Income tax 7+%

Where is all that money going....It's not my salary