<p>When you are talking locally, I don’t know of a business that isn’t paying in to the local municipality for all these services. It’s true that blaming local employees of a municipality for financial problems is wrong unless corruption is evident. In New Jersey, it’s a known way of doing business that is expected if not accepted on some level.</p>
<p>I just don’t see the division between business and local government. One of the primary reasons for local government to exist is to build and maintain an infrastructure that attracts business and residents and tourists. The investment in infrastructure attracts revenue in these ways. So it’s unfair to criticize businesses as well. As far as business that illegally avoid taxes, they should be arrested as should politicians that evade taxes of which there seems to be many.</p>
<p>My house is assessed around 200K. If I get 150K, I’d be thrilled (bought it 24 years ago for 127, so at this point I’ll just be happy to recoup that.)</p>
<p>garland you should appeal your assessment. If it truly only worth $150 you should be able to reduce your taxes to around $5500.</p>
<p>One of the best bargains for my taxes is our county library system. I love it. The county next to me has the best county park system in the State.</p>
<p>Not likely. everyone’s value went down in this town. We could fight it, and might lower it slightly. But that’s lower than anyone else in the area, so I don’t believe it would go down much. No one in this town has seen anything as low as 5500 in many years.</p>
<p>If you find 3 comps that sold for 150K you should be able to win your appeal. It does not matter what anyone else does. Unless they reassess the entire town your tax is based on your assessment. If you get the assessment lowered your tax must go down.</p>
<p>My house (tax year 2011) was assessed at about 350K, for 1400 sq ft on a little less than 1/4 acre. Tax bill for that year was less than $3500. It seems low, but we also have a county income tax.</p>
<p>I think a property tax of 8,000 on a house worth 200,000 is ridiculously high.</p>
<p>I like prop 13 in Cal. The tax is based on what you pay for a house and not what your neighbor pays. A homeowner can plan accordingly because she has a great chance of knowing what her property taxes will be in the future. She also has a greater chance of being able to stay in her house if she so chooses.</p>
<p>Calif has very high income tax rates and high sales tax rates. Calif is a high tax state. </p>
<p>Taxes are just one factor in people leaving a state. Housing is very expensive in the nicer areas of Calif…so… if people are leaving the state…others want to live here.</p>
<p>In Calif…a house that is purchased for 200,000 will start out with property taxes around 2500 a year plus there could be add ons like extra taxes for schools. 8,000 in prop taxes for a 200,000 house? Not likely to happen here.</p>
<p>I know folks in CA who would like to sell their paid off family homes and move into something smaller. BUT they can’t afford the property tax increase that would come with purchasing a new home.</p>
<p>In HI, houses + land valued at about $800K that are owner occupied with owner over 65 years old are taxed at about $1000 or so. If it isn’t owner occupied, it’s about double that. We have an excise tax near 5% on nearly all transactions and sales, plus fairly steep income taxes to make up for these lower property taxes. Landlords pass on increases in property taxes to tenants in the form of higher rents.</p>
<p>You guys are talking about why taxes are relative.</p>
<p>If I didn’t live in NJ, the thought of federal taxes going up wouldn’t be as bad as they are now. Over 60% of my income spent in fed, state & local taxes is enough. I should be in the tea party but I’m not.</p>
<p>When I leave the state, it will equal a 10-20 percent increase in income depending where I go.</p>
In many areas of California, a house valued at $200,000 is not likely to happen period. For example, the least expensive piece of property that is currently for sale in my town is $300,000 which gets you a 600 sqft condo that does not look in good condition. The least expensive home is $639,000 which gets you 1200 sqft. A typical 2500 sqft home that is a good distance away from the ocean ranges from $850,000 to $1.5 million, leading to a property tax of $10,000 to $18,000 (property tax rate works out to a bit over 1% in my area). This is a higher property tax than others have listed for similar square feet in other states.</p>
<p>Dstark–in NJ, the property tax is the town tax, the county tax, and the school tax–nothing else to tack on.</p>
<p>I do live in the highest tax-rate county in the state. My second home’s taxes are less than half that, and it’s a bigger house, but it’s in the south end of the state.</p>
<p>Wish we could move there permanently, but no jobs to be had.</p>
<p>Garland, I understand. You have had that second home for quite awhile. That poor job market in your second home area has been lasting a long time.</p>
<p>Well, we knew it might be the case. just not very many schools to work at when you live on a sparsely populated peninsula. Though boardwalk carnie jobs are available in the summers! :)</p>
<p>"A typical 2500 sqft home that is a good distance away from the ocean ranges from $850,000 to $1.5 million, leading to a property tax of $10,000 to $18,000 (property tax rate works out to a bit over 1% in my area)</p>
<p>I pay $9800 (school + town + county) on my 1800 sq. ft. 1950’s ranch in upstate NY on 1/3 acre.</p>
<p>“For the majority of counties nationally, the taxes are 1.5 percent or even less than 1 percent, except in New York or New Jersey where they are above 2 percent.”</p>
<p>Garland, I guess I’ll stop complaining (or try to).</p>
<p>We’re a few counties west of you in nj, I think.
Our old house in need of repairs probably would sell for $400k even as is.
Our tax bill is just below 10k.</p>
<p>We vacationed this year in Cape May. Rented a lovely TINY ranch, two bedrooms,one bath.
I could be very happy there in retirement…when the job thing would be irrelevant.
But that’s still 5-8 years away for us.</p>
<p>We looked at the tiny ranches, but in the end we opted for one slightly larger, with a small second story, so there’s room for kids and (fingers crossed) grandkids, or to take my mom in, etc. But our neighborhood is filled with those tiny houses going for a song these days. (not in CM itself, though.)</p>
<p>(and as far as the difference in taxes, it is bizarre. It’s not like it’s going to our schools, which have the lowest teacher salaries in the area.)</p>
<p>Total property taxes collected in NJ is about $26/27 billion. A little less than 50% goes to schools. The national average is that about 35% of property taxes go to schools.</p>