The Tax Bill: Placing a Dagger in the American Dream of Home Ownership

Huffington Post ^ | 11 Nov 17 | Miles Zaremski

[SkyPilot]

As we now know, both chambers of Congress have introduced their versions of legislation to overhaul our tax system, or, rather, the tax code. Some say it is reform, others more properly say it is merely a tax cut for the wealthiest and most powerful of American persons and corporations at the hands of those less fortunate, the middle class. But to give the rich their largesse, the middle class is being looked to as the sacrificial lamb by having certain deductions stripped away from them. Among the most critical of these deductions are the ones that make home ownership——the American “dream”—-more impossible to achieve. They are state and local taxes and property taxes (”SALT”) which promises to become a real lightening rod in passing any tax legislation in the weeks and months ahead (Senate Tax Plan Diverges From House Version, Highlighting Political Pressures). Lessening the mortgage interest deduction, as House Republicans are wanting to do, is also a problem (How The Republican Tax Plan Could Change Mortgage Interest and Property Tax Deductions).

In recent days, Congressman Peter King (R-NY) said he will not vote for the removal of any such deductions since it will mean his constituents in NY (Long Island) will find their federal income taxes going up. He espouses a view in microcosm held by millions across the nation in middle class suburbia that pay high state and local taxes. Besides New York, other states like Connecticut, Illinois and California readily come to mind. But, who cares, so says Republicans in states that do not have high SALT; what is important is to “feed” the pocketbooks of the “uber” class——Republican donors and fatcats. This is the Robin Hood scenario but in reverse-take from the poor and give to the rich.

[trebb]

All of them - when the government gives "breaks" it considers it to be giving up some of its money (Vs. our money) and finds other ways to collect. Giving these tax breaks was designed to make them look like they were trying to help while they made the tax code more and more complicated and onerous.

If they stopped all this crap, we could all use our money as we personally desired instead of using "what's left" (after they use it for their own aggrandizement and vote buying) and folks who were capable of working would be forced to be productive and the spiral would reverse into an upward direction.

Any time the government "gives" anyone anything, the hook is set.

Even religious and marriage and children credits all get used to either keep hooks in or to "encourage certain activities" and that has evolved into trying to discourage other activities and find new and creative ways to ever increase the sop we pay them to stay out of jail.

Get rid of all of that and eventually the government would be back in its rightful place but we are so addicted that even the most 'conservative" will find reasons why we should be getting something from the government while railing g that the government takes what it has to take if it's gonna be able to 'give" anything....ironic.

[kearnyirish2]

For every expensive home in Essex County, there are 10 rat-holes in the urban section (Newark, East Orange, etc.) - and 3 very average homes in between. Since the urban areas won’t re-assess properties (because it would chase out the last businesses and productive residents), the brunt is borne not just by the expensive homes (with taxes over $20K), but by the average homes - driving their taxes over $10K. This holds true in all of the counties in northeastern NJ, where most of the people live. Using taxes from south Jersey, where horses outnumber people, is ridiculous; five towns can share one school.

Before we continue this mindless prattling, please look up taxes in my home town (Kearny NJ), then look at the map (Google?) with the demographic breakdown - these are not even middle-class areas anymore.

[kearnyirish2]

This post highlights exactly what I’ve pointed out as the problem; here in NJ each town pays for its own schools (it is not done at the county or state level - it is called “home rule”). On top of paying for our own schools, we have to pay for the schools in the urban slums - which are completely insolvent with no tax base, but with the most students and the highest-paid teachers (”combat pay”). The county adds THAT to our tax bills as well. The state was helping with those costs (from our income taxes; the lottery funds that were supposed to do this are totally inadequate) until it ran out of money; at that point it was kicked down to the county level (and county taxes are a component of our property taxes).

[21twelve]

Here in the suburbs of Seattle a 1800 sf home runs about $4,300 in taxes. Although I suppose some of that goes to paint the rainbow-colored crosswalks for the queers downtown - so there’s that.

[Demanwideplan]

Very creative. Now the onus is on the state and local authorities to lower taxes. Property taxes based on value is a huge scam and must be reeled back in.

[SkyPilot]

Now the onus is on the state and local authorities to lower taxes.

They won't do anything about lowering them. Losing a deduction which dates back to 1913 in the Federal Tax Code only means that individuals, families, and homeowners are punished and screwed.

This tax hike will also have a devastating effect on the housing markets in NJ, NY, CA, IL, CT, and other places.

Maybe Paul "I Cut The Pensions of Disabled Veterans" can make a campaign commercial about it? I am sure it will be so popular.

Where Paul Ryan lives, the SALT deduction elimination won't affect him very much.

But it doesn't matter anyway to him, because he has all that Insider Trading money.

Ah yes, our "Public Servants."

[Ambrosia]

Thank you for the personal info that sheds light on NJ problems. It’s not always possible to move, however if I were in your situation, I would sell....and move.

I say that because this issue will not improve, and only get worse. Right now home values are at an all time high, like 2007... that is best time to sell. And I would find an area, unless you aren’t able to do that due to family, health, or ability to drive, that homes cost less, school costs come out of sales taxes or other places, not real estate taxes.

Heat/Cold is a very big issue, as South is hotter year round...you will find milder winters but hotter summers! I live in Mountains which is 10 degrees cooler in summer but we have very cold winters for 3 months out of year but it does not last long....fluctuates, not like north where it’s solid cold for weeks. I have lived in North for 18 years, in South (born, raised and returned, and Southwest...short time...too dry for me.

Choice of a State is a trade off in taxes, costs, temperature, and socialization. FYI: Our sales tax is 7% in NC...we have a state tax. Be careful in what is important, and thanks again for info.

[Ambrosia]

Now when it comes to property taxes here, there are ways to save money by living in County, but not City. The taxes for both County and City almost double you tax bill, if you live in city. However, if you live close to City but NOT in it, you can save almost half, but bus service is a lot more more limited depending on where you choose to live.

[Ambrosia]

LOL...too funny! I am not politically correct and may get chewed out over my answer, however, I do have a sense of humor.

I have never been attracted to large homes, so 1000-1500 sq ft is more than I would need! I can only be in one room at a time...my needs are never more cleaning, more things, or more furniture. Less is more imho!

[SaraJohnson]

The GOP has the same agenda as the DNC. They don’t care if they have a majority or not.

[ncalburt]

Agree .
It’s a odd situation .

[kearnyirish2]

We have a similar deal here (probably the same across the country) where you deal with reduced services away from the city, but because the cities have collapsed (no real tax base of homeowners and/or businesses) all of those services’ costs are simply passed to the surrounding healthy areas of each county. You’d deal with reduced services while providing every service imaginable to the welfare caste in the cities.

[Ambrosia]

I think that needs to change, because Dems are more in cities and Repubs are more in counties, so naturally the Dems give away more in social programs like welfare, and support Planned Parenthood. Not something I would want to pay for.

I live very rural, not off the grid, but in cell phone dead zone, and my road was paved in last ten years... a dead end road. Thanks to O drama! Taxes went up... of course! However I like that NC, SC use lottery monies to keep up and build new schools. Students benefit, and taxpayers do too. It leaves money for local uses.

[kearnyirish2]

Thanks for understanding; right now the primary reasons to stay are a job from the “before-times” (decent pay and benefits), as well as children in school and ageing parents nearby (for both my wife and myself). It seems the trend here is that whereas before people would move when they retired, now they only seem to wait until the kids are out of school and parents have died or moved away. A lot of the housing price increases are muted here because of the property tax situation; when people are going to pay $750+ per month just in property taxes (again, not in “nice” areas), they are very careful in how much they’ll spend. On top of that, we’ve lost a lot of good jobs here over the past dozen years; a couple of years ago Mercedes Benz moved their headquarters from a neighboring county down to Atlanta, and those good jobs lost aren’t being replaced. The financial and pharmaceutical sectors have also moved a lot of jobs away from here; the companies see no point in paying such high taxes (often with little return).

When we move it would probably be southwards along the east coast; I’m not a fan of the desert (though many in NJ are retiring there instead of more traditional places like Florida), and I wouldn’t want to deal with harsh winters. I guess time will tell...

[kearnyirish2]

NJ’s lottery was supposed to fund schools as well (that is how it was sold to a skeptical public years ago when they legalized it), but when teachers have become the upper middle class while working 180 six-hour days it became clear where the money was going - certainly not to school buildings or books.

At this point the suburban and rural areas in NJ are filling with foreigners steered directly onto public assistance; without them we’d have ghost towns (which I’d prefer), but the teachers’ unions dominate government here. We had a brief respite on the state level with Chris Christie, but in a few months that will end.

[Ambrosia]

Retirees are fleeing FL because of Hurricane damage, gangs, Muslims have gangs in Tampa area. I owned a house in FL that was an investment, I sold it in January, and took my profit. So glad after damages there this year.

SC, GA are warmer places in winter but still seasonal, even lower coast of NC. SC has new mfg plants like BMW in Greer, and Airplane builder in Charleston. I’d avoid Charleston low country due to similar issues as big cities. SMALL TOWNS are best, under 100,000 population, a point for later. The good culture and technology are there, but crime is lower. Always use online ‘city comparison’ of towns/cities, and also ‘city data detailed w zipcode’, which help w statistics like economy, crime, and other important factors affecting cost of housing and resell values.

[Ambrosia]

If you stay in NJ, get involved to try and move the money where it should go. Civil committees etc.

[Rome2000]

Lots of people in New Jersey pay 12-17 K a year on rather modest houses. The point is that we didn't elect a GOP majority to RAISE TAXES ON THE MIDDLE CLASS-PERIOD.

This nonsense of subsidizing high tax States is exactly that- NONSENSE.

The people writing this tax bill are lying Goldman Sachs oligarchs Banksters, the same scumbags that were “too big to fail” and got the taxpayers to bail them out back in 2008 that now want a huge tax cut for corporations and want the upper middle class to pay for it.

CUT SPENDING

DO NOT RAISE TAXES ON THE MIDDLE CLASS

This bill raises taxes on a family of four in ANY State, whether they have a State Income tax or not.

Banksters Mnuchin and Gary Cohn from Goldman Sachs are writing the tax bill.

This is an attempt at the biggest heist in history.

“Mnuchin is a member of the “Big Six”, a group of politicians convened to write a tax reform proposal that incorporated input from members of the House of Representatives, Senate, and White House. In addition to Mnuchin, the group consists of Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Representatives Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Paul Ryan (R-WI); and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn”.

Do you trust these 2 creepy scumbags or believe a goddamned word they say?

I sure as hell don't

They need a trip to the Guillotine, not running around trying to steal cash from HARD WORKING MIDDLE CLASS TAXPAYERS!!!!!

Even an idiot can see from this bar chart that FEDGOV is out of control.

Yearly spending has doubled too, from 2 trillion to 4 trillion since 2001.

Rather than cut spending, the GOP wants to stick it to MIDDLE CLASS taxpayers THAT ACTUALLY PAY TAXES, give corporations a break (windfall that won't be passed down to employees), and pass it off as a TAX CUT

OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!

[Ambrosia]

So glad you got that off your chest! I had a discussion with someone else, and evidently you misunderstood most of it!
Have a great day!

[Rome2000]

Bite me retard