"It's your money! You know best what to do with it! (Don't spend it on Other People, and you know what that means.)"

ass. ayn randian weasel.

I have opposed tax increases for things I don't approve of, but it's never based on the actual money. I don't understand people who are so damned stingy that they can't fork over a couple of dollars a year for much needed services or improvements. I know there are people who are on a super-tight budget, but it seems that most of the complainers really aren't in that category.

is only $100 a year.

In parts of Long Island or New Jersey that 28% would be close to 3K!

school taxes!

FWIW I live in Hall County of Georgia, population 200,000. 50 miles north of Atlanta, median home price $173,600.

My total RE taxes when I moved here in 2000 was $1,200. They are now $520/yr because owners over 70 no longer need to pay school taxes.

just you county tax portion. Not the whole property tax. That makes sense.

BTW I agree with your premise that people don't get that they are paying for services that they need and usually demand.

They also begrudge public employees making a decent living.

don't want to pay fior specific things, like the military, a war, abortion, etc. but that's a different fight. It seems to me that sommon sense as taken leave fron the American brain!

Right now, people think police and fire protection are free.

I don't see how you make those numbers work.

A 26% increase in my property tax would be another $1200. I would definitely notice that on my fixed income.

You don't mind paying for the services you receive. 2nd problem is you understand enough about the situation to have done research and find out facts.

If this election has taught me anything, it's how many people don't think they should hafta pay for anything related to the basic upkeep of society. Or certainly not anything more than the already outrageous amounts (snort) they're paying now. And barely any of these people do any damn research or slightly educate themselves.

(First part of my post was sarcasm just in case it doesn't translate.)

You had to break it down to dollars on your own, based upon the value of a home. Percentages scare people, especially if they look large. If I tell you that I will increase a fee on you by 300%, that sounds bad. But if I say that I will be charging you $4 per year instead of $1 per year, things sound vastly different.

The people proposing the tax increase did a horrible job of framing the wording. People should have been told what it meant in terms of dollars, not percentages.

Who is a gun humper and a teabagger. He was/is convinced That the taxes withheld from his weekly pay go solely to support o family of undeserving moochers. That the share he pays, annually, that is allotted to that sort of thing, probably doesn't amount to more than $30, is of no consequence to him. He is sure that there is a family that lives on HIS $30 a year.

I asked him once to point out, to me, just which family he fully supports with $30 per year, saying that I would take over for him. Just show me which family. Of course he couldn't, but he's pretty sure they are probably in California and of Latin descent.

There is no reaching these folks.

and different school districts....
as such, the taxing authorities are not completely identical...but both are subject to both municipal and county authorities with the county being the common factor.

The house with the higher overall tax rate is subject to a higher county tax rate due to the fact that the municipality provides NO SERVICES...
No police No Fire No EMS No trash/recycling

Hence, there is an additional "Emergency Services District" tax assessed
which provides access to fire services, the sheriff 's office, and a third party contracted ambulance service...

The municipality tax rate is comprable to other municipalities within the county.....



The house with the lower overall tax rate is not subject to the Emergency Services District tax because the (2sq.mile/ 7500 pop) MUNICIPALITY has a full police force w/jail,
city hall w/judge;planning & development; city manager;
full public works dept.;
city water & sewer services
full fire & EMS dept with 2 ladder trucks and 2 ambulances,
municipal trash pick up 2x wk &
recycling collection 1x/wk


I would happily support a tax rate increase for the municipality actually providing a full array of services.....

But would NEVER support a tax increase for the municipality which chooses NOT to provide any services.

Heck, break it down to a monthly charge, and it looks even pettier. But for less than the cost of a cup of Starbucks a month, look at what the county will be able to do for its citizens.

The accessed value has only doubled. Property taxes go to the local government for schools. What happens is they announce a shortfall in the school budget and increase property taxes to cover it. If you closely examine the funding, you notice that other streams of income are being reduced.

The very rich own estates that pay very low taxes because they are "farming" further shifting the burden to those of us who aren't rich.

Some of the reductions in revenue are directly related to tax incentives given to already rich developers and their ilk. More of the cuts come from state funds, because those fund are directed elsewhere.

It feels like death by a thousand cuts, even though each increment is small. Around here very few go "insanely crazy" about it, but we do complain about the way the money is managed for sure.

Can anyone guess which party controls my local government?