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Texas GOP proposes sales tax increase/property tax decrease swap


DanRydell

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On 4/10/2019 at 5:42 PM, Johnny Sack said:

So how does brokeass, dumbass, redneck Texas stack up against progressive unionized Wisconsin?

 

Dollars to donuts his hummingbird yankee ass wouldn’t talk like that down here. We’re apparently smarter, and will whip your ass. 

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9 hours ago, Bat Guano said:

This is getting a little off track for the thread, so let's take it further off. The bootstraps theory has never been valid, and it's turning out that there are, like, reasons that it's just a myth:

Why Poverty Is Like a Disease

Emerging science is putting the lie to American meritocracy.

Sounds a bit weird at first, but some of the effects on the individual - at every level, including the cellular and genetic - really do look like the effects of a disease, an inheritable one. And are just as devastating and long-lasting.

 

That article is fascinating. It’s unfortunate not  a single person that should read it will.

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9 hours ago, Bat Guano said:

This is getting a little off track for the thread, so let's take it further off. The bootstraps theory has never been valid, and it's turning out that there are, like, reasons that it's just a myth:

Why Poverty Is Like a Disease

Emerging science is putting the lie to American meritocracy.

Sounds a bit weird at first, but some of the effects on the individual - at every level, including the cellular and genetic - really do look like the effects of a disease, an inheritable one. And are just as devastating and long-lasting.

 

I have long believed that something genetic and/or environmental about poverty creates something very akin to depression:  a mental illness that tries to tell you nothing will help and is accompanied by distorted or "stinking" thinking that is so common with depression and other mental illnesses.

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9 hours ago, Anastasis said:

Tldr. How long did it take before the threads devolved into posters calling each other racist and posting pictures of klan rallies?

Perhaps a sign of the times, but that didn't actually happen.  Partly what I was alluding to with my "good times" comment.

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I have long believed that something genetic and/or environmental about poverty creates something very akin to depression:  a mental illness that tries to tell you nothing will help and is accompanied by distorted or "stinking" thinking that is so common with depression and other mental illnesses.

It comes down to the effects of chronic stress on the human body and mind. It saps your physical and mental health. That isn't necessarialy exclusive to poverty but it is a defining feature.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

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On 4/10/2019 at 12:55 PM, NowThis said:

Seattle and some of its suburbs are expensive due to the big tech but away from that Metroplex, WA is really affordable in the east like Spokane, Yakima and south towards Vancuover/Portland.  I have spent probably 4 or 5 months up there in total and know that it's better tax wise.  How can it not be? The ordinary person pays no state income tax and the pass on expenses from companies doesn't hit the monthly budget.  Prop taxes are half of TX. My real world experience disputes that idea of WA being a top tax state. 

i-ZqvqxHm-2100x20000.jpg

Spoiler

The Old Country

I had to repair this computer to even write this post - that’s how fucked up shit is over in Spokane.

That’s just what’s up here: you start out harrowed, then feeling is lost, and then you discover bats living in your ribcage.  And you let them because you’re afraid something else will try to live in there instead and having the bats in there is like a hairy, black No Vacancy sign.  You have to make sure you’re tooled up to flex on a motherfucking mutant.

I had to invent a word based martial art - Pugilectics - to protect myself under the very real possibility that my limbs either go missing or are actively turned against me.  It’s the sort of shit you only need to see once before it becomes something you plan around.

Hey!  If you enjoy the kind of imagery that Spokane naturally inspires, it’s possible you might enjoy the game of Call of Cthulhu we played earlier this week.  It was a sponsored stream on the channel, but that sponsorship didn’t involve being included in the post - I genuinely think you might enjoy it if you aren’t already familiar with the mechanics, and as an investment in live roleplaying it’s only a couple hours, which is pretty rare.

 

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18 minutes ago, Rimbo said:

i-ZqvqxHm-2100x20000.jpg

  Reveal hidden contents

The Old Country

I had to repair this computer to even write this post - that’s how fucked up shit is over in Spokane.

That’s just what’s up here: you start out harrowed, then feeling is lost, and then you discover bats living in your ribcage.  And you let them because you’re afraid something else will try to live in there instead and having the bats in there is like a hairy, black No Vacancy sign.  You have to make sure you’re tooled up to flex on a motherfucking mutant.

I had to invent a word based martial art - Pugilectics - to protect myself under the very real possibility that my limbs either go missing or are actively turned against me.  It’s the sort of shit you only need to see once before it becomes something you plan around.

Hey!  If you enjoy the kind of imagery that Spokane naturally inspires, it’s possible you might enjoy the game of Call of Cthulhu we played earlier this week.  It was a sponsored stream on the channel, but that sponsorship didn’t involve being included in the post - I genuinely think you might enjoy it if you aren’t already familiar with the mechanics, and as an investment in live roleplaying it’s only a couple hours, which is pretty rare.

 

my longtime friend just moved the Spokane area last month and loves it. Beats the hell out of Houston traffic. 

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15 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

I have long believed that something genetic and/or environmental about poverty creates something very akin to depression:  a mental illness that tries to tell you nothing will help and is accompanied by distorted or "stinking" thinking that is so common with depression and other mental illnesses.

I don't have any thoughts one way or the other about genetic modifications, etc. but I can absolutely believe that poverty creates a headwind which very few are able to battle.  I don't think the average American has a clue about how stressing and desperate such a lifestyle can be.

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25 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I don't have any thoughts one way or the other about genetic modifications, etc. but I can absolutely believe that poverty creates a headwind which very few are able to battle.  I don't think the average American has a clue about how stressing and desperate such a lifestyle can be.

This.

And again, folks really should read that linked article.  Seriously, it's not about race, or socialism, or any of that shit.  It's what old Marvin Zindler used to say after some citizen protection story - "I said it before, I'll say it again -- it's HELL to be poor!"

If you are of reasonable financial means or better, the path to success for your kids has a fair margin for error -- if they have a scholastic or financial misstep, there's a family and community safety-net.

If you are poor, there is zero margin for error.  One misstep, or one thing that just happens TO you (an illness, etc.), and you are behind the 8-ball and never get out from behind it.  Hell, many of y'all know we work with a refugee family -- they are of course poor.  She works, she supports her kids, they have food and a roof over their heads....but we have certainly seen that our role is that of their extended family: we are their safety net.  And because of that greater safety net (we're not the only folks in that group, by the way), they are much more likely to build a path that is ultimately successful, will see the boys get a college education, etc.  EVERY poor household needs that.  Otherwise, all it takes is a broken down car, causing you to miss work, causing you to lose your job....and it's over.  Or a case of the flu....and it's over.  Etc. etc.

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That type of community support is vital, but it's not enough.  Estimates are that anywhere from 43-100 million Americans live below or at the "poverty" level.  While there is no universally accepted standard of poverty, it's clear that as many as 30% of Americans suffer.  There simply aren't enough "neighbors" helping out.  The problem is bigger than that.

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7 hours ago, gmr548 said:


It comes down to the effects of chronic stress on the human body and mind. It saps your physical and mental health. That isn't necessarialy exclusive to poverty but it is a defining feature.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 

more:

Quote

But as the experiment went on, researchers began encountering anecdotal evidence that surprised them. The people who moved out of poor neighborhoods were healthier. When they went back and measured the differences between people who got vouchers and people who didn’t, the results were remarkable: The people who got vouchers to move to low-poverty neighborhoods had significantly lower rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

Robert Whitaker, a pediatrician and public-health expert at Temple University, co-authored a report on the HUD study for the New England Journal of Medicine in 2011. “By dint of the design, the cause of the difference in diabetes and obesity was the voucher and the move to a less-distressed neighborhood,” Whitaker says. “The amazing thing is that the cause of the difference in obesity and diabetes was the move.”

https://getpocket.com/a/read/2418923350

 

 

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41 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

That type of community support is vital, but it's not enough.  Estimates are that anywhere from 43-100 million Americans live below or at the "poverty" level.  While there is no universally accepted standard of poverty, it's clear that as many as 30% of Americans suffer.  There simply aren't enough "neighbors" helping out.  The problem is bigger than that.

Oh, I agree -- no level of "hey, let's set up a buddy system!" will get it done.  It's much bigger and more systemic than that.

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On 4/12/2019 at 7:27 AM, bernorange said:

Perhaps a sign of the times, but that didn't actually happen.  Partly what I was alluding to with my "good times" comment.

And people thought old cloak room was bad.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 4/10/2019 at 1:19 PM, jimmyjazz said:

Under this plan, the poor would pay more sales tax and the same property tax.  If anyone thinks landlords are going to reduce rents because their property taxes went down, well . . . oceanfront property for sale, etc.


It's funny. I'm having a Twitter debate with Rep. Mike Garcia on this very point.  He made that point exactly, that landlords will reduce rents because their property taxes go down. His tweet, my response, his response, my response etc... are here. As you can see, he resorted to misrepresenting my point:

 

 

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8 minutes ago, Hornius Emeritus said:


It's funny. I'm having a Twitter debate with Rep. Mike Garcia on this very point.  He made that point exactly, that landlords will reduce rents because their property taxes go down. His tweet, my response, his response, my response etc... are here. As you can see, he resorted to misrepresenting my point:

 

That guy struggles with math.  First, he says $1 on $100 is "less than 1%" (no, it's 1%) . . . but he's completely missing the fact that $0.01 added to $0.0825 (or whatever the max is) is a sales tax bump of at least 12.1%, and more for communities under the max.

Ultimately, there's no free ride.  If they shift the revenue stream more towards sales tax and away from property tax (yeah, right), then we're either paying the same amount out of different buckets or the revenue stream changes.  It's just sleight of hand, and most people are stupid enough to believe it's a win for the average Joe.

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Rents could drop some but it wouldn’t seem like it would be drastic.  A few landlords with empty properties might be faster to drop rents if their prop taxes are lower but would that be enough to pull down the market much? I’m doubtful.

but a stronger impact to rents could be that property itself becomes more expensive due to lower taxes. Land becomes more expensive so perhaps fewer people can afford to buy.  Equals more renters. More renters could equal higher rents. 

Edited by Nice Guy Eddie
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Hmmm

On 5/4/2019 at 8:48 AM, DanRydell said:

The legislative budget board calculations for the tax swap proposal are out. To the surprise of no one, it would be a boon for those with incomes exceeding $150k paid for by those making less than $99k.


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Hmmm .... why does this show that everybody's rates will go down?


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7 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

That guy struggles with math.  First, he says $1 on $100 is "less than 1%" (no, it's 1%) . . . but he's completely missing the fact that $0.01 added to $0.0825 (or whatever the max is) is a sales tax bump of at least 12.1%, and more for communities under the max.

Ultimately, there's no free ride.  If they shift the revenue stream more towards sales tax and away from property tax (yeah, right), then we're either paying the same amount out of different buckets or the revenue stream changes.  It's just sleight of hand, and most people are stupid enough to believe it's a win for the average Joe.

This. All tax reform talk always leaves out that it’s shifting more of the burden to another group unless the goal is less tax revenue for the govt. 

property tax is a bitter pill for the upper middle class and higher but it’s a natural consequence of wealth/income inequality. You can argue the poor to middle class needs to pay more of their fair share of taxes but there is little money there to be taxed. Yes we can tax them more to punish them for being poor but that will only accomplish keeping them as poor as possible.  (Cue the myth that they waste their money on new iPhones and lottery tix so why not take their money via taxes)

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8 hours ago, Hornius Emeritus said:


It's funny. I'm having a Twitter debate with Rep. Mike Garcia on this very point.  He made that point exactly, that landlords will reduce rents because their property taxes go down. His tweet, my response, his response, my response etc... are here. As you can see, he resorted to misrepresenting my point:

 

 

This is like when they said health insurance premiums would go down if tort reform passed.

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I completely agree property taxes are inherently problematic because they’re taxing an unrealized asset. Your house quadrupling in value doesn’t increase your income. But the solution is an income tax, not increasing sales taxes even more.

 

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6 minutes ago, DanRydell said:

I completely agree property taxes are inherently problematic because they’re taxing an unrealized asset. You’re house quadrupling in value doesn’t increase your income. But the solution is an income tax, not increasing sales taxes even more.

This.

Property taxes bad.  Sales tax even worse.  Income tax makes sense.

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15 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

One thing I do like about sales tax is the money collect from those who don't live or own property here.

They are still paying for services/goods from the locals, which pays local salaries, which feeds into an income tax.  

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19 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

One thing I do like about sales tax is the money collect from those who don't live or own property here.

Generally speaking, those folks get popped plenty on things outside the ordinary sales tax: airport tax, rental car tax, hotel tax.  Visitor X pays a CRAPLOAD of taxes.  That said, I'm not opposed to 1) a moderate sales tax, with 2) mechanism for significant deduction/credit for folks below a certain income level when it comes income tax time.  But it all comes back to an income tax being the most efficient and fair method.

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The one social good that property tax lends itself to is that it can encourage land to find the best utilization for it.  If you own a vacant lot in the middle of town waiting for someone to offer you $2M for it, a 0% tax rate may lead to on-going costs at $0. But if there is a 3% tax rate, the owner is now paying for that lot to be under-utilized.   It encourages (not requires) the owner to make a decision.    In many cases, it best for society for that lot to be maximized.

As much as we all hate income tax, it is probably the best method to indicate how much that person can afford to pay.  Personally I would accept an income tax but only on the condition that property taxes are legislatively eliminated. 

 

 

Edited by Nice Guy Eddie
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19 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

The one social good that property tax lends itself to is that it can encourage land to find the best utilization for it.  If you own a vacant lot in the middle of town waiting for someone to offer you $2M for it, a 0% tax rate may lead to on-going costs at $0. But if there is a 3% tax rate, the owner is now paying for that lot to be under-utilized.   It encourages (not requires) the owner to make a decision.    In many cases, it best for society for that lot to be maximized.

As much as we all hate income tax, it is probably the best method to indicate how much that person can afford to pay.  Personally I would accept an income tax but only on the condition that property taxes are legislatively eliminated. 

 

 

Your first para makes a good point that I hadn't really thought about.  There should be some disincentive to letting valuable land lie fallow and not contribute to the economy.  Maybe you could have a property tax that applies ONLY if the property is not being used in a way that does not achieve at least 50% (or some other percentage) of its "highest and best use" valuation?  Exempt ag exempt property and any property on which there is a homestead declaration, probably.

And bolded the last part for emphasis -- income tax should be a replacement of property tax, not an addition to it.

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property tax is a misnomer.  it's only a real property tax.  you could live on a postage stamp out west of katy, have shit tons of financial property (or investment grade wine, whatever), and barely pay any property tax. 

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In a surprising turn, Texas House opts to delay consideration of sales tax swap legislation until 2021

Quote

Huberty tabled until 2021 — the next legislative session — House Joint Resolution 3 and the accompanying House Bill 4621, which would ask voters to increase the state sales tax by one penny to buy down school district property taxes.

Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead.

Who knows what the governor will do, we may have special sessions till the cows come home. I can't wait to ask my guy in the know.

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On 4/12/2019 at 8:00 AM, gmr548 said:


It comes down to the effects of chronic stress on the human body and mind. It saps your physical and mental health. That isn't necessarialy exclusive to poverty but it is a defining feature.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 

Yep and the effects of chronic stress are exacerbated later in life when experienced as a child. It literally stymies the the brain's executive function. In many of Andrew Yang's interviews he discusses how a scarcity mindset lowers the IQ by 10+ points. He's referencing research on how chronic stress affects brain function. I first came across some work in this area in a book I read before having my eldest child entitled "How Children Succeed" by Paul Tough. It really informed my thinking on issues surrounding poverty, crime, and my obsession with housing segregation.  

Edited by Catdaddyhorn
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On 5/6/2019 at 2:40 PM, Nice Guy Eddie said:

The one social good that property tax lends itself to is that it can encourage land to find the best utilization for it.  If you own a vacant lot in the middle of town waiting for someone to offer you $2M for it, a 0% tax rate may lead to on-going costs at $0. But if there is a 3% tax rate, the owner is now paying for that lot to be under-utilized.   It encourages (not requires) the owner to make a decision.    In many cases, it best for society for that lot to be maximized.

As much as we all hate income tax, it is probably the best method to indicate how much that person can afford to pay.  Personally I would accept an income tax but only on the condition that property taxes are legislatively eliminated. 

 

 

i don't disagree with the example you provided, but the problematic flip side of that is that it makes it hard to measure that utilization by any metric that isn't economic.  How many different times do you think people have floated the idea of turning Central Park into buildings.  Is the School for the Deaf about to get torn down and turned into mixed use condominiums or whatever?  And that's land owned by government rather than individuals rather than the typical small business story we hear in gentrifying areas.  I suppose rents always rise with property values (and am on my first cup of coffee and not 100% yet) but just pointing out the.... connection that measuring property utilization economically has with the cycle of - area becomes cool->property values rise->everything that made the place unique and interesting gets priced out->once cool area is now a generic shopping mall.

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My point was that high prop taxes can encourage private land ownership to maximize economic value or utility. 

i agree that parks and schools shouldn’t be encouraged to be flipped into condos. They’re not taxed and actually are directly or indirectly the beneficiary of property taxes.  No one is encouraging them to be anything other than they are.

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On property tax reform, why wouldn't the conversation start with the clear conflicts of interest in valuation?

Is it really to much of a stretch to say valuation stays at price of purchase?

At the very heart of the issue, purchases buy homes that almost always increase by the max allowable percentage, year after year. Problem being none of us are receiving 10% raises every year, so a house we can afford can quickly become too expensive strictkt due to tax increases.

If you really had a hard-on for taxing increases in value, you could have some sort of extra tax at the time of sale on the difference between puchase vale and sale value.

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52 minutes ago, pacman said:

On property tax reform, why wouldn't the conversation start with the clear conflicts of interest in valuation?

Is it really to much of a stretch to say valuation stays at price of purchase?

At the very heart of the issue, purchases buy homes that almost always increase by the max allowable percentage, year after year. Problem being none of us are receiving 10% raises every year, so a house we can afford can quickly become too expensive strictkt due to tax increases.

If you really had a hard-on for taxing increases in value, you could have some sort of extra tax at the time of sale on the difference between puchase vale and sale value.

My experience is assessed value in Harris County is a lot lower than market value.  Is that different in other areas?  

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1 hour ago, pacman said:

Is it really to much of a stretch to say valuation stays at price of purchase?

At the very heart of the issue, purchases buy homes that almost always increase by the max allowable percentage, year after year. Problem being none of us are receiving 10% raises every year, so a house we can afford can quickly become too expensive strictkt due to tax increases.

I like to use other states as experiments. Everyone's current punching bag, California, tried this in the late 70s and it went bad, bad bad. You know those million dollar 500 square foot homes you hear about? You can thank prop 13.

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On property tax reform, why wouldn't the conversation start with the clear conflicts of interest in valuation?
Is it really to much of a stretch to say valuation stays at price of purchase?
At the very heart of the issue, purchases buy homes that almost always increase by the max allowable percentage, year after year. Problem being none of us are receiving 10% raises every year, so a house we can afford can quickly become too expensive strictkt due to tax increases.
If you really had a hard-on for taxing increases in value, you could have some sort of extra tax at the time of sale on the difference between puchase vale and sale value.


California has seen harshly the problems created by permanently pinning appraisals to the sale price. You create a scarcity problem, discourage property transfers, and create a revenue problem.
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My experience is assessed value in Harris County is a lot lower than market value.  Is that different in other areas?  


That’s been my experience in Travis as well. People bitch about their appraisals but I don’t know anyone who would happily sell their house for its appraised value.
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It is probably different in the suburbs. I would sell in a heartbeat at appraised price(wcad), given the county thinks I made a little over $20,000 in one year on the house.

The previous owner was a DV, so he didn't pay property tax and didn't care. His house sat for sell at appraised value for quite awhile.

Finally, the market (me) gave him $30k under the appraised price. I used the sale price to save $40k on appraised value, since they were trying to raise it even higher again, higher than the value the house was unable to sell for. Now, they are trying to get back to that value as quick as possible.

Same house as mine, two streets over, just sold for $5k more than I bought mine, so their values are bs again, no surprise.

Easy protest but not everybody is financially literate. They will get away with it. Hell, comps are fairly wild in the area, so I may not even win as there are comparable homes a little further away that sold for more.

I will also say our previous home sold for more than appraised but it was a very tough find these days, small/cheap starter home. It definitely varies.

Edited by pacman
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There are examples across the spectrum but overall I would say that Harris County appraisals are fair.   I've owned my house for 15 years, and there are years I felt they were too high, and other years the appraisal price hasn't moved but I thought my house could sell for more.   One year I had to fight them to drastically lower their valuation, and they agreed. 

 

As referenced above, I've never understood why some groups of people automatically get an exemption regardless of their financial situation. Disabled vets, blind people, elderly, etc. I'm all for helping people when they need it, but instead of giving them a tax break, the legislature should be required to fund the exemption each year. State representatives want the disabled vet to get their prop tax bill taken care, then have the state write a check to the county tax assessor. Oh maybe you didn't want to help them that much.

Or grandma that is living off a fixed income, ok give her a tax break. Grandma that is living in River Oaks? Hell no.  Document your assistance need and then you get the help.

Edited by Nice Guy Eddie
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18 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Disabled vets, blind people, elderly, etc. I'm all for helping people when they need it, but instead of giving them a tax break, the legislature should be required to fund the exemption each year.

Things I think and discuss with my wife but do not bring up in polite company because everyone wants to support the vets. I could scream about it until I'm blue in the face, but it does no good.

Quote

grandma that is living off a fixed income, ok give her a tax break

Another one that I can scream about. You know who else lives on a fixed income? Most of us.

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I bitch about my property taxes, but man, I do not like this solution.

It's just a shell game aimed at the lower classes, like all shell games.

First, improve the way you spend the money you got.  Reallocate it.  Then raise or create new taxes.  Don't lower my property tax $500 or $1000 and make some other schlub pay the difference.  Unless that schlub is already under-taxed.  And even then.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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This plan is bullshit

republicans are trying to do what republicans always do. Come up with legislation aimed at helping the rich while selling snake oil to the hardworking middle and lower class people. Rich people get all the direct benefits while repubs will hope that some apartment complexes lower their rents after receiving lower property tax bills. When those people get greedy and don’t lower their rates, repubs will shrug their shoulders and say “those people worked so hard to own that complex, they deserve a break!”.

Everyone earning under 100K will pay more. That’s just amazing!

 

Edited by Voldemort86
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