Posted on 05/25/2004 5:47:41 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Are you in favor of enacting a state income tax?
Yes No I don't know enough about the subject.
I voted yes. The mickey mouse system we currently have is unsustainable. The property and sales taxes keep going up and the property appraisals are unfairly administered. We'll have it sooner or later. I lived in Missouri where we had one and paid no more in total taxes.
When a state has no sales tax, it reduces its tax options. Such states usually have a stronger business climate than states with income taxes too. The states with no state sales taxes are TX, TN, FL, WY, WA, NV, NH, and what's the other? Maybe MT? Or UT?
Voted no to Texas income tax.
Trust me Theodore they Lie, Lie, Lie!!
It will only open the door for more taxes and
believe me in the long run the property taxes
will NOT slow down!! A Michigander who's
been there and done that!
YES - 14%
NO - 82%
I voted NO. As I posted yesterday, we're forking over nearly 2 months - 2 MONTHS! - income towards property taxes on a small older home on a tiny lot and that's without city taxes. In less than 10 years our taxes have risen from 2 weeks to 7 weeks of our paychecks. As much as high property taxes are hurting us, I'll pay a state income tax as soon as the illegal aliens pay theirs. However, I'd be for a hike in sales tax so everyone, including illegal aliens, will pay their fair share.
Well, here in good ol' CA, we got property tax on property that's now selling for a half-million bucks.
We got yer sales tax.
We got big gas tax.
We got utility tax.
We got bed tax, if you want to rent a room.
Etc., etc., and etc.
If you need a new tax, come here. If we don't have it taxed now, we soon will.
Go home yankee.
Montana has no sales tax. However it has a state income tax. I've lived there too. This tax business can be cleared up by looking up the stats on tax burdens of states. You will find that Missouri and Texas are about tied in that respect. Missouri has a 4.25 sales tax. Texas is 8.125 and will likely go higher. The property taxes are onerous and poorly administered and appraised. I've seen homes on the county tax rolls that are greatly undervalued (someone evidently greased someone's palm) and shacks that are overvalued. If you bellyache you can usually get them to devalue your real estate.
The wealthy counties like Smith County (Tyler) has a low property tax while poorer counties like Anderson have a higher and poorer counties higher still. This falls disproportionately on the poor. Plus there are exemptions for farm animals and the like that distort the process all to heck. It is just a rotten system. The state keeps calling special sessions to deal with the school funding crisis and each time they come up with even weirder formulas to raise tax revenues. It is just nuts.
A low state income tax piggybacking on top of the federal tax is not a big deal. I did my taxes using turbotax and it was a snap. They could lift it entirely from Missouri and immediately lower the sales and property taxes. It would work and it would be fair. The present system cannot be sustaned forever and any thinking person knows it.
I bow to your superior argument, my lord.
You know reducing spending might have a small impact.
In MN(high state income tax) the average increase in property taxes was about 7%(I think that is what the news said) last year. In my town it was around 15% including the school levy.
Then maybe the poor should move to Tyler.
Plus there are exemptions for farm animals and the like that distort the process all to heck.
Not every parcel of land over a quarter acre is an estate. If a land is used for agriculture, it is taxed accordingly so that agriculture can be profitable.
It is just a rotten system. The state keeps calling special sessions to deal with the school funding crisis and each time they come up with even weirder formulas to raise tax revenues.
Take a drive by your local high school and tell me there is a school funding crisis. It is getting so every podunk little town has a physical plant a major university would be proud of. Plus the superintendents earning more than lawyers and various school administrators making $100k+ a year. Take a long hard look and you will realize school finance is nothing more than a scam. Giving these con artists more cash is just plain stupid.
"Take a drive by your local high school and tell me there is a school funding crisis. It is getting so every podunk little town has a physical plant a major university would be proud of. Plus the superintendents earning more than lawyers and various school administrators making $100k+ a year. Take a long hard look and you will realize school finance is nothing more than a scam. Giving these con artists more cash is just plain stupid."
I would agree with you about the compensation of superintendents and principals, but I don't believe that you would cure the problem with higher sales taxes higher property taxes. This is a huge disincentive for people to improve or build new homes. A neighbor down the street from where I live has property taxes of over $10,000 per year. He lives a little higher on the hog than I do but I think this is absurd.
"The wealthy counties like Smith County (Tyler) has a low property tax while poorer counties like Anderson have a higher and poorer counties higher still. This falls disproportionately on the poor."
Then maybe the poor should move to Tyler.
Property taxes are actually low in Texas compared to most of the states with large economies. Coupled with the fact that real estate prices are are reasonably low in Texas, a property value based tax system produces a relatively low tax burden. My relatives around the country cry when they see I have 50% more house for 75% of what they paid for theirs and on top of that I pay thousands less each year in property tax than they do.
Only part of the property tax is affected by the state. City, county, community college and local school optional assessments are part of the property tax. They will not be affected by introduction of state income tax. Any real reduction in property tax will quickly be negateds as the various taxing entities see the opportunity to deceptively increase their take. Introducing another tax option NEVER results in a reduced tax burden on the economy.
Texas has a strong economy. The schools systems have been showing a continuing level of improvement over the past two decades. The quality of life in Texas is very good. I see no reason to risk these in order to make it easier for the politicians in Austin to find the money they want to spend. As long as they are crying about not having enough money, I figure we must be doing something right.
This is a meaningless statement because it lacks a basis for comparison. What is the total tax burden in MN vs Texas when adjusted for cost of living/wage rate factors. I'll bet whatever you want that Texans have the lower burden.
The states with no state sales taxes are TX, TN, FL, WY, WA, NV, NH, and what's the other?
This is an error on my part: I meant to say states with no state income taxes (not sales taxes).
My real estate taxes and property insurance is between 2.5 and 3 times what I paid in Missouri. I really do know what I am talking about. Missouri is not a poor state. Texas needs to come into the 21st century. It needs a modern tax revenue base. Everyone recognizes this but they won't admit it. It's all cheap politics.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.