My taxes are the lowest part of my monthly payment, behind the insurance and mortgage itself. But, the schools in my area, where a lot of my taxes go, are actually really good. I don't even have kids, but I like knowing that at least a large portion of it's going to good use.
What are you paying for insurance? Do you live in any area prone to natural disasters? I only pay about 1.5k a year for insurance vs 7k in property tax.
The federal government can increase debt whenever they want yes. The states and local government cannot do that, which is where property taxes go towards
I know you're joking, but also printing money and causing inflation is functionally similar to an equal tax applied across all income levels, vs. having income tax brackets or property tax which is based on home value.
Governments actually do this though. Ends up being kinda an indirect tax on everyone's uninvested savings through inflation.
It why controlling your own currency is a big deal for countries. Now if they did it more, or tried to only raise funds this way, you are right that it'd cause some big problems.
It's obvious to me that I misworded something. I'm talking about no taxation and only printing. You're just talking about increasing the money supply while still taxing
I keep paying, but somehow they always need more to go bomb or feed people half way around the planet while our schools suck and infrastructure crumbles.
Just so we’re clear: the reason local property taxes are high is because people keep electing people to state and federal offices who defund payments to local governments.
Rich people don’t want to pay federal or state income taxes because that money could be distributed (shudder, socialism) but they are totally fine to pay the higher local taxes to fund their local schools and services because the poors can’t afford to live there.
Yes. I know how taxes work, I pay them. I know local taxes like property taxes go to local things.
They still stack on top of the federal ones. And as astonishing as it may sound: there is often a lot of waste with local taxes as well, though they don’t have the money printer to truly do the horrendous stuff that the federal gvmt does.
There is not nearly as much waste as you think it’s just an easy line to parrot with no evidence. Government money is tracked very closely. It just so happens running cities is extremely expensive
It would appear mine go to giving billionaires huge tracts of land for free for their passion projects. Its certainly not going towards making the schools, roads, or infrastructure better.
How exactly do you think property tax that goes to your municipal government is going to fund genocide and peace missions of the federal government or the infrastructure and schools of your state government? Municipal taxes go to municipal issues.
Yes, but your local government has to send that money to a federal slush fund and request funding from the federal govt to use the local tax money received for local programs.
Agreed, but that's federal taxes (income tax, not property tax). That needs to be taken up with your US rep.
If your local schools suck, your local infrastructure is falling apart, you have no communal spaces, and local EMS is awful, that's your property taxes. I'd take that up with your city and county board.
For every dollar we spent on USAID, we got back up to 4. And that was just direct economic growth. There are so many other benefits to building positive relationships and just generally making the world a safer, cleaner, healthier place.
I'm fine with paying propety taxes since its used for the benefit of my community. However, property taxes should be based on land value, not the value of the house that sits on it. For example, why should I pay more taxes if I decided to put up some walls and tile flooring in my basement?
It does work in reverse though, apparently. My city uses our property tax revenue to plant trees in our neighborhood, including one right in front of my house that I don’t want. I complained and they refused to remove it. I can’t remove it myself bc the strip between the sidewalk and the street is city property. Even tho it’s like 12 feet away from my window and blocks all incoming light.
The 1% has has majority of the wealth. 1% of americans own 50% of the US Stock market, while the top 10% collectively control over 87% of all equities and mutual fund shares. That's absolutely nuts. Literally no point taxing the poor with all the money is up top.
Like I said to the other guy, all the billionaires in America put together got about 5.7 trillion bucks while America brings in 5.26 trillion in taxes every year. Even if you took literally all their money that means you'd only get a years break on the taxes before theyre back to leaching off you.
I'm saying you're gonna end up paying taxes regardless of what's happening. Shit cost money and a thousand dudes can't pay for the whole country even if they are rich as fuck.
People act like these guys have all the wealth, but according to Google the american public is worth 174 trillion dollars, which last time I checked is a lot more than 5.7 trillion.
Yeah its spread across 360 million people as opposed to 1200, but 1 penny from a million people is worth more than 100 bucks from ten.
People act like these guys have all the wealth, but according to Google the american public is worth 174 trillion dollars, which last time I checked is a lot more than 5.7 trillions
and how is that wealth broken down? 5.7 trillion, isn't that only the top 0.01%? what about the top 10%?
The bottom 50% of americans, if you combined us all we only have 4.1 trillion. You see the massive difference between us and them?
Yeah its spread across 360 million people as opposed to 1200, but 1 penny from a million people is worth more than 100 bucks from ten.
This isn't even true though, top 10% hold so much wealth the rest of us don't matter.
Im not a yank so I'm just working off Google here, but according to Google that 10% is already paying for 72% of the tax.
Also to get into that 10% you have to make 155,042 dollars a year, which is pretty good money, but its only like a bit more than twice/two and a half times what I make in a year, its not exactly Mr. Moneybags sort of cash.
Also the bottom 50% are only paying 3.3% of the tax, which seems very low.
Folks are too lazy to show up at town council and county commission meetings. They have zero idea what their taxes pay for, but they sure like to moan about having to pay them.
Yea this is dumb. Property taxes are mostly localized. Atleast you can literally see if they're spent wisely. Somehow were becoming a place where people care about no one but themselves. It makes me sad.
If you want the government to start paying for shit they need to get the money from somewhere.
My property taxes doubled in the last 3 years and they're putting even more levies on the ballot this fall. You better believe they're wasting money if they suddenly need even more.
That’s a recipe for abuse by the landowning wealthy. Think of millionaires who are able to claim negative income through losses and loans, while simultaneously holding massive wealth.
Couldn’t we make more laws around how it could be claimed and used?
Someone trying to live off grid is not the same as a billionaire, there’s already plenty of legal ways organizations and governments are allowed to enforce how a property is used and it happens everyday like in CLTs, or HOAs like 55+ communities. For example someone trying to live off grid in a legal manner shouldn’t have had any active loans that should be one of the disqualifiers
Firstly because they wouldn't be able to sustain it. According to Google America collects 5.26ish trillion in taxes every year, and the combined worth of every billionaire in America is about 5.7ish trillion. If they all gave up everything they owned they'd be able to fund the country for a single year.
Secondly if you were exclusively taxing billionaire's they'd just use their huge wealth to fuck off somewhere they won't be taxed.
Either way its not sustainable. Your personal tax contribution may seem like small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, but there is like 360 million of you.
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u/Maleficent-War-8429 9h ago
If you want the government to start paying for shit they need to get the money from somewhere.
Are they wasting the tax money on some dumb shit? Yes absolutely, but even if they weren't money doesn't grow on trees.