Tyrants in Maryland do it again

[MMDad]

We dole money to every deadbeat human and country that comes around with their hand out - why can't we say that old people on a fixed income don't have to pay taxes anymore?

Let me get this straight - since we already feed and house people who failed to plan for their future and save enough for retirement, we should also forgive their taxes? Where do you draw the line?

Last week Larry wa the leftist, today Vrai is a socialist. What is the world coming to?

There should be no reason to go into debt to pay taxes because you should have saved enough to pay those taxes before you ever retire.

 

[Larry Gude]

That's...

Okay then property should be taxed based only on the appreciation accumulated since the most recent ownership transfer. Just like taxing interest on money in the bank. The money isn’t taxed, the interest is. If I bought a house for $250K and it’s now worth $310K, then property taxes should be based on the $60K of appreciation that has occurred since I bought the place.

...a possibility but in places like Montgomery county when folks bought at $20k in 1960 and it's now worth $500,000, you're still talking about 95% of the tax burden.

 

[Larry Gude]

Calling me a leftist...

Let me get this straight - since we already feed and house people who failed to plan for their future and save enough for retirement, we should also forgive their taxes? Where do you draw the line?

Last week Larry wa the leftist, today Vrai is a socialist. What is the world coming to?

There should be no reason to go into debt to pay taxes because you should have saved enough to pay those taxes before you ever retire.

...doesn't make me one anymore than calling her a socialist makes her one. It is wrong for people to lose their homes to taxes. That doesn't make her socialist. The issue is how do we go about finding a reasonable and fair solution between the need for revenue and the ability for old folks to pay.

 

[ShyGirl]

I'm somewhat shocked at your attitude. A person shouldn't have to take out a mortgage on their house to pay their property taxes. The very thought of that is absurd.

We dole money to every deadbeat human and country that comes around with their hand out - why can't we say that old people on a fixed income don't have to pay taxes anymore?

I think that this is the next big issue. Maybe a solution would be to set a base tax rate and have a declining sliding scale dependent on how long the owner has lived in the house.

 

[Larry Gude]

Right...

I already knew this. I’m not saying people don’t have the responsibility to pay for the needs of the community. I’m just saying that property taxes are not the best way of doing it

...so, if you bring in $12,000 a year for your SS, how do you afford $5,000 in taxes? If we exempt you and 'you' are a significant number of people, that's placing a significant burden of the lost revenue on everyone else.

I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Larry Gude]

Vrail...

[ I never said that

...did.

 

[Larry Gude]

That's a nice thought...

Folks shouldn’t have to go into debt just to pay

...but, when you're only asset is your home, the options run out pretty quick.

We're not talking about small potatoes. Any municipality that brings in coin via property taxes is gonna suffer, alot, if old people become exempt.

12% of us are 65 or older. As a percentage of tax payers, excluding kids, it would be an even great percentage. AN awful lot of people could make the argument they can't really afford their property taxes.

 

[MMDad]

...doesn't make me one anymore than calling her a socialist makes her one. It is wrong for people to lose their homes to taxes. That doesn't make her socialist. The issue is how do we go about finding a reasonable and fair solution between the need for revenue and the ability for old folks to pay.

Asking society to support people who do not save for retirement is absolutely socialist. What ever happened to personal responsibility? Are you planning to retire on social security and expect to keep your current mansion without paying taxes? Or do you save enough to fund your retirement including housing expenses?

Home ownership is not a right. You have to earn it. That means earning enough to pay your taxes as long as you wish to live in that house.

As far as the other tax schemes go, taxing only the appreciation means that you will be taxed more on that appreciation in order to provide the government funds. It's just a little extra dab of KY to make it feel better as they give it to you. There's no difference in the bottom line.

 

[Larry Gude]

You're opening...

Asking society to support people who do not save for retirement is absolutely socialist. What ever happened to personal responsibility? Are you planning to retire on social security and expect to keep your current mansion without paying taxes? Or do you save enough to fund your retirement including housing expenses?

Home ownership is not a right. You have to earn it. That means earning enough to pay your taxes as long as you wish to live in that house.

As far as the other tax schemes go, taxing only the appreciation means that you will be taxed more on that appreciation in order to provide the government funds. It's just a little extra dab of KY to make it feel better as they give it to you. There's no difference in the bottom line.

...up the entire can on how we tax in this nation and what the founders intended. Don't forget we are a nation formed on the passions of tax revolt.

It is not right for a person who has been a solid citizen for their whole life to lose their home to property taxes. They earned something all those years.

It's one thing to want to make it easier on those young enough to deal with problems. That's socialism and not a very good idea. It's quite another to try and look after our elderly. That's compassion.

 

[Pandora]

...so, if you bring in $12,000 a year for your SS, how do you afford $5,000 in taxes? If we exempt you and 'you' are a significant number of people, that's placing a significant burden of the lost revenue on everyone else.

I'm open to suggestions.

It is frustrating when 6.2% of your salary goes to SST off the top. Then you have state, local and federal. Then anything you buy is taxed.

Why does it have to be so high and so much in the first place? Taxes have gotten to be beyond... far beyond... ridiculous.

The government needs to learn the word "NO" and use it to every Tom, Dick, Harry and Jane that has some request for some money for the latest special interest project. This all adds up. If I ran my household the way the government runs theirs, I'd be belly up in no time. Yet, slowly but surly we are doing just that. Buy now, pay later!

But you know what? We have ourselves to blame for buying into the whole thing.

We allowed this! Those before us allowed this.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/debt/debtguide2004/debt-trivia1.asp


^ amazing isn't it? And those are 2003's numbers. They have greatly increased since then.

 

[MMDad]

...up the entire can on how we tax in this nation and what the founders intended. Don't forget we are a nation formed on the passions of tax revolt.

It is not right for a person who has been a solid citizen for their whole life to lose their home to property taxes. They earned something all those years.

It's one thing to want to make it easier on those young enough to deal with problems. That's socialism and not a very good idea. It's quite another to try and look after our elderly. That's compassion.

Why is it the fault of society when someone doesn't save enough for retirement? Other than the disabled, everyone in this country has had the oppurtunity to earn a living and save for retirement. Why should we feel sorry for those who don't save? Why do people who were not responsible enough to save for retirement have a perceived "right" to own a home?

 

[vraiblonde]

Asking society to support people who do not save for retirement is absolutely socialist. What ever happened to personal responsibility? Are you planning to retire on social security and expect to keep your current mansion without paying taxes? Or do you save enough to fund your retirement including housing expenses?

Wait a minute. By forgiving bullcrap property taxes for the elderly, we are not "supporting" them. 9 times out of 10, they're supporting themselves just fine, until the tax collector comes around to fix that.

Not to mention that if I buy a $300k house, which is a modest house around here and not a "mansion" by any stretch of the imagination, in 30 years that house is going to be worth significantly more than $300k. And I will be taxed on that greater value, not on $300k, when I'm trying to retire on a fixed income.

 

[Vince]

The government needs to learn the word "NO" and use it to every Tom, Dick, Harry and Jane that has some request for some money for the latest special interest project. This all adds up. If I ran my household the way the government runs theirs, I'd be belly up in no time. Yet, slowly but surly we are doing just that. Buy now, pay later!

I think we let far too much money out of this country.... for what? So some foreign government can use it and we can call them our allies or get something out of them? We'd do better not to loan/give our money away and use it for our own country.

 

[MMDad]

Wait a minute. By forgiving bullcrap property taxes for the elderly, we are not "supporting" them. 9 times out of 10, they're supporting themselves just fine, until the tax collector comes around to fix that.

Not to mention that if I buy a $300k house, which is a modest house around here and not a "mansion" by any stretch of the imagination, in 30 years that house is going to be worth significantly more than $300k. And I will be taxed on that greater value, not on $300k, when I'm trying to retire on a fixed income.

JPC would argue that he is supporting himself "just fine", but if you aren't paying your taxes and get the boot are you really supporting yourself?

Are you going to save enough to pay those increased taxes before you retire, or are you just going to quit paying taxes and act shocked when the county takes your home?

 

[vraiblonde]

Why do people who were not responsible enough to save for retirement have a perceived "right" to own a home?

If they bought that home and paid for it all those years, it should belong to them - NOT the government.

Saving for retirement is all well and good, but when the government can set the tax rates to anything they want and wipe you out, it's kind of hard to plan for. Maybe you have all the money in the world, but most people don't.

 

[awpitt]

It's one thing to want to make it easier on those young enough to deal with problems. That's socialism and not a very good idea. It's quite another to try and look after our elderly. That's compassion.

Good thought.

 

[Larry Gude]

My dear...

It is frustrating when 6.2% of your salary goes to SST off the top. Then you have state, local and federal. Then anything you buy is taxed.

...it's not 6.2%. It is over 12%, 15% if you count medicaire.

 

[Larry Gude]

It is not...

Why is it the fault of society when someone doesn't save enough for retirement? Other than the disabled, everyone in this country has had the oppurtunity to earn a living and save for retirement. Why should we feel sorry for those who don't save? Why do people who were not responsible enough to save for retirement have a perceived "right" to own a home?

...society's 'fault' if someone, anyone, doesn't save 'enough'. It is, however, a fault of society when an older citizen who played by the rules and was a member in good standing loses their home to property taxes.

You don't have to feel sorry for an elderly lady who lost her home to property taxes.

If her home is paid off and it's her home, how does she not own it?

 

[Larry Gude]

I don't think...

JPC would argue that he is supporting himself "just fine", but if you aren't paying your taxes and get the boot are you really supporting yourself?

Are you going to save enough to pay those increased taxes before you retire, or are you just going to quit paying taxes and act shocked when the county takes your home?

...JPC is an elderly person living on a fixed income.

 

[Pandora]

...it's not 6.2%. It is over 12%, 15% if you count medicaire.

12.4% if you are self employed. Right! I was looking at my portion, 6.2% and my employer picks up the other 1/2.

I forgot about the 2.9% of Medicare Tax (or 1/2 if your employer picks up 1/2).

It never ends!