Are property taxes fair in your opinion?

Should some people pay them, while others not? Across the board? Or should it be eliminated.

Personally I think elimination of property taxes would be great.

I don't know. I really really dislike capital taxes which is effectively what a property tax is, but maybe they're one of the only effective ways to fund a city.

My issue with property taxes is that the government gets to assess the worth of the property. Uhm, how is that not a conflict of interest? If I was trying to sell somebody a car I would most definitely assess the car so that I got the most money. Whereas if an independent organization assessed it, they would be more likely to come up with a fair price.

The more important reason is to ensure productive use of land. Without property tax certain groups of people will acquire large land tracts and leave them idle for long periods of time which is counterproductive to society. This has been a major impediment in central and south america for decades.

I think that makes perfect sense.

It differs everywhere, where I lived before they don't tax you unless you own a home. I've nothing against them.

All commercial and residential properties are taxed, so you're paying property taxes even if you don't own property.

Yeah, that is bogus. I've constantly had appraisals which are far above the market value. Yet the higher they appraise your value, the more you have to pay.,

Property taxes defeat the purpose of owning land, so I think they are unfair.

Well, truth be told, you really dont own the land. You are renting from the government.

I've never had to pay taxes on property I've rented, I imagine the landlord does that with money I pay for rent.

You're still paying for it. It's a distinction without a difference.

I've never had to pay taxes on property I've rented, I imagine the landlord does that with money I pay for rent. As far as mortgages go the money you pay on that goes into an escrow account to pay the property taxes while technically you don't own the property; I'm aware of that.

If you thought it too high/unfair, why didn't you appeal it and file your supporting data for fair market value?

No such appeal here in NY. What the state decides is what the state gets. And it's too expensive to take them to court.

I don't own my own home, but I find property taxes stupid. Oh, you own this house and piece of land? Great, now that you've paid for it and own it, let's charge you a tax for living on the land you own!

I think it's also part of the reason why housing prices are going up. The government says your house is worth 300k instead of the more likely 215k that you'd get if you sold it, to benefit them getting more money from you in tax season. Meanwhile your house is a crumbling piece of shit that has had no updates in 20 years.

And apartment buildings are becoming more in-demand and popping up wherever they can find space because nobody can afford a house, so rent goes up to cover that.

It's dumb. Once you own something, you shouldn't be continually taxed on it.

Interesting point, I hadn't though of that.

In a developed country how necessary is it, though?

Well, I'll tell you what, they could eliminate property taxes tomorrow it won't make a lick of difference on rental prices.

http://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/property/contest/contestasmt.htm

Yes you can. You can file a grievance at the local level. If that doesn't work you can take them to small claims court which costs virtually nothing. I can't think of a jurisdiction without an appeal process in Canada and the US, but I am not familiar with every state.

Same effect over the longer term.

Although we could make improvements to the current system by clearly separating the land from the improvements made onto or to the land which would reduce urban sprawl. In many jurisdictions, higher value denser urban centre cores are subsidizing lower value urban sprawl suburban communities even though costs to service the new suburbs are typically considerably higher e.g. water and sewer because of lower density. This leads to higher urban taxes proportionate to actual infrastructure/servicing costs and encourages sprawl.

Back to your question, what would happen if the super rich bought all the cheaper land around the major cities and simply sat on that land for as long as they want and never had to pay taxes? Imagine if that occurred in LA or Chicago or Dallas or wherever 50 or 100 years ago.

You may think it is a good idea for the little guy, but you are ignoring the fact that the superrich can afford to own massive amounts of idle land and are in a far better position to exploit the absence of property tax than you are.

I can understand, and even appreciate, the need for it when cities are developing but now? I think we've reached the point where having property being developed is always better than just having it sit there unused.

States can collect taxes in 3 ways: sales, property, and income. In order for a state government to function properly, they have to do 2 of those 3. In Texas, for instance, we do not have a state income tax, but we have a sales and property tax. Another state may not have property tax, but they will have state income and sales tax.

@huggybear1020: I wish we only had 2 out of 3 of the taxes.

Taxes as a whole will never really feel fair. That being said they are a necessary evil.

You don't ever really own the land. Like someone else said in this thread, you pretty much "rent" the land from the government. Take for instance in the case where the sidewalk in front of your property needs repair. I don't "own" that sidewalk, the city does. Yet, I have to shell out repairs for it if the deem it necessary. I don't like the idea of it either, but it's all part of owning property.

As for the worth of house - that's based on houses that are in your area. The assessment doesn't figure in the condition of the inside of the house and if you let it "crumble to shit". When you sell it, of course you probably won't get what it's worth, but there a lot of factors that contribute to that - the bad housing market being one of them.

Same in Pennsylvania.....

@LJS9502_basic: I thought pa doesn't pay on clothes at least?

No sales tax on clothing and food unless it's prepared...ie restaurant. But there is still sales tax here.

@LJS9502_basic: yea I was gonna say I am on PA line here in ohio and we travel to grove city for clothes sometimes

Thank God....

Property taxes are usually collected not at the state level but at the county or parish level. As long as you and your property continue to benefit from local services (police, fire department, hospital, trash removal, animal control, primary/secondary education, etc), why should you be exempt from contributing to those services? You'll be using them whether your house is mortgaged or not. Property taxes aren't a "sales tax" on a house.

@XaosII: well you do already pay local income tax on top of federal and state. It's kinda amazing how many levels and areas of taxes there are.

Democrats aren't helping you in anyway mate.

@ScottMescudi: Republicans are less likely to help. Not a major business nor in the top 5%.

How so? Reducing taxes and deregulating businesses in the states are what Republicans known for. That statement is just hyperbole.

Deregulating buinesses is not necessarily a good thing. As far as Repubs go in the fed government...they're outspending Dems.

Second.....on a local level the Repubs always try to get rid of the employer I have and the Dems support them. So don't tell me I have to like your political opinion. People have different ideas. Get over it.

@LJS9502_basic: it's opposite here the city is major democratic and it's a crap hole the suburbs are republican majority and much much nicer. But I don't feel like getting into it.

I'm fairly certain that local income taxes for nearly every state are collected at the state level which is meant to fund the state government and not your local county or parish.

Since we do not use a Value Added Tax system, like much of Europe does, we have to rely largely on income tax. But since that affect mostly the federal government, we have a bunch of other small taxes as well. Its definitely a messy system, but it also doesn't mean the typical %40+ taxes on most goods and services that a VAT system imposes.

Income taxes vs VAT have their pros and cons. But my point is that property taxes generally fund your county. local Income taxes generally fund your state. Sales tax generally fund the state. non-local income taxes fund the federal government.

@XaosII: I know I pay state federal and local (city) income tax. Hell so far this year it's totaled about 20 grand for me alone not including property tax and any other tax or "fee"

As far as taxes go, the property tax is probably the most fair, really. Everyone pays, and the amount you pay is entirely based upon the lifestyle you choose to live.

The property you own is not a reflection of the life style you lead.

The most fair is a progressive income tax.

I can't think of a better reflection than property, really. The income tax is the least fair. It makes it harder to improve your stake in life, and the wealthiest people can mostly avoid it.

The only thing worse than property taxes is Eminent Domain, which is the right of the government to compulsorily purchase your property for public projects. For example, if the government wants to build a new roadway and your property is located along the planned route, they can force you to sell it to them, at a price that they determine.

You can appeal, but it's a difficult process and they usually reject it.

Property tax IMO is one of the best values on your tax dollar IMO. The amount of services I get for the dollar amount I pay per year is actually fantastic if you compare it Federal tax for instance. It's the only tax I don't mind paying.

They taxed us til the day we die..