Local Government Tax And Spend Tactic Is Just The Beginning

[Bamaball2001]

Share
 

This is only one example of things to come...

Federal, State and local governments have always repeatedly over spent their budgets and then come to us and ask for a tax increase to make up the "short falls" in their budgets. This is just one example of what is happening all over the country.

"I would ask the Gwinnett families to sacrifice with me.”

This tax increase is estimated at 21%; a huge increase by anyone's standards. Many news agencies are reporting that this amounts to $300 per year on a $250,000 house and it comes on the heals of at least a 21% decline in value of the average house in this area.

During the past year people here (I am sure everywhere) have been very vocal in demanding a revised tax assessment because they have lost so much of the value of their home. The argument has been that the county should not be charging the same elevated tax rate in spite of our loss. What is the county's answer? A huge tax increase because thay need more money, with absolutely no guarantee that it will be enough.

Due to the declining economy and especially the falling home values the local government has found itself in financial trouble, just like all of the rest of us. But, unlike us, they can go out and take money from someone else to ease the pain. That someone is us; and around and around and around we go, where will it stop?..... nobody knows.

Can you see this coming on the federal level? Don't you wish you had someone that you could demand (and receive) money from when you had trouble paying your bills and getting what you want?

I wonder how many of us across the nation, have similar stories?

[NYBamaFan]

You guys don't pay taxes in the South. Seriously, you take home at least 20% more of your income than people up here or on the West coast. I think that is about to change...

[Tidewater]

	Quote:	Bamaball2001
	This is only one example of things to come... Federal, State and local governments have always repeatedly over spent their budgets and then come to us and ask for a tax increase to make up the "short falls" in their budgets. This is just one example of what is happening all over the country. "I would ask the Gwinnett families to sacrifice with me.”

The only silver lining is that Gwinnett can't print its own money. And it can only borrow so much before its credit rating drops and must start paying more interest to attract bond purchasers. That in itself is a brake on the spending at state and local levels.

[Tidewater]

	Quote:	NYBamaFan
	You guys don't pay taxes in the South. Seriously, you take home at least 20% more of your income than people up here or on the West coast. I think that is about to change...

Gwinnett is not in the South.
It's in the Atlanta metropolitan area.

[NYBamaFan]

	Quote:	Tidewater
	The only silver lining is that Gwinnett can't print its own money. And it can only borrow so much before its credit rating drops and must start paying more interest to attract bond purchasers. That in itself is a brake on the spending at state and local levels.

Yeah, up here they overcame that by raising property taxes every year for the last 30 years. I now pay about $14k/yr...

[NYBamaFan]

	Quote:	Tidewater
	Gwinnett is not in the South. It's in the Atlanta metropolitan area.

LOL, I like that.

[Tidewater]

	Quote:	NYBamaFan
	Yeah, up here they overcame that by raising property taxes every year for the last 30 years. I now pay about $14k/yr...

Ouch. I feel for you.
That explains why Yankees are buying up the South like there's no tomorrow.

[Bamaball2001]

	Quote:	NYBamaFan
	You guys don't pay taxes in the South. Seriously, you take home at least 20% more of your income than people up here or on the West coast. I think that is about to change...

	Quote:	NYBamaFan
	Yeah, up here they overcame that by raising property taxes every year for the last 30 years. I now pay about $14k/yr...

If, in fact, you live in New York as I assume you do considering your avatar, then you live in one of the most socialist states in this nation; another being California...on the west coast that you mentioned.

Therefore you and they are forced to pay outrageous taxes and your cost of living is off the chart. That is the price that you pay for your socialistic government's decision making.

But no it won't happen here. The majority of southern society is against big government. They do not want socialism. They do not want to be taken care of; which is why the south has become a red state stronghold, when it was once one of the strongest blue state areas on the map.

The rest of the nation looks at the taxes and the high cost of living in places like New York and California and shakes their head in wonder at how anyone would put up with that. The influx of displaced people from those two states to southern states is off the chart. Most of the newbies I talk to around here speak New York and that isn't about to change anytime soon.

[Bamaball2001]

	Quote:	Tidewater
	Ouch. I feel for you. That explains why Yankees are buying up the South like there's no tomorrow.

And, it also explains why, as you said, Gwinnett is not in the south it is a suburb of Atlanta. Most people don't speak southern around here.

[Mamacalled]

	Quote:	Bamaball2001
	This is only one example of things to come... Federal, State and local governments have always repeatedly over spent their budgets and then come to us and ask for a tax increase to make up the "short falls" in their budgets. This is just one example of what is happening all over the country. "I would ask the Gwinnett families to sacrifice with me.” This tax increase is estimated at 21%; a huge increase by anyone's standards. Many news agencies are reporting that this amounts to $300 per year on a $250,000 house and it comes on the heals of at least a 21% decline in value of the average house in this area. During the past year people here (I am sure everywhere) have been very vocal in demanding a revised tax assessment because they have lost so much of the value of their home. The argument has been that the county should not be charging the same elevated tax rate in spite of our loss. What is the county's answer? A huge tax increase because thay need more money, with absolutely no guarantee that it will be enough. Due to the declining economy and especially the falling home values the local government has found itself in financial trouble, just like all of the rest of us. But, unlike us, they can go out and take money from someone else to ease the pain. That someone is us; and around and around and around we go, where will it stop?..... nobody knows. Can you see this coming on the federal level? Don't you wish you had someone that you could demand (and receive) money from when you had trouble paying your bills and getting what you want? I wonder how many of us across the nation, have similar stories?

Something that people need to understand, the assessment does not determine your taxes. Just because the assessment goes up or down does not mean that your taxes are going to reflect that. The School baord determines their budget. They take the total assessed value of all taxable property in the county and divide that into the budget to determine the millage rate. Same with the board of commissioners. They determine how much it is going to operate the county and then divide that into the total assessed value of all taxable property and determine the budget. If the budget increases your taxes are going to increase even if values decrease. The politicians like to pass the blame onto the assessor's office as if they set the taxes. They don't. All the assessor's do is determine value. The politicians will champion the fact that they lowered the millage rate as a tax decrease when the truth is your taxes still went up because they didn't offset the increase of value. Now they are in a pickle because values have gone down and they can't pass it off on the assessor's. Good ole ROy Barnes pulled a fast one on us when he was in office by passing a farce of a tax exemption that really did nothing.

[Bamaball2001]

	Quote:	Mamacalled
	Something that people need to understand, the assessment does not determine your taxes. Just because the assessment goes up or down does not mean that your taxes are going to reflect that. The School baord determines their budget. They take the total assessed value of all taxable property in the county and divide that into the budget to determine the millage rate. Same with the board of commissioners. They determine how much it is going to operate the county and then divide that into the total assessed value of all taxable property and determine the budget. If the budget increases your taxes are going to increase even if values decrease. The politicians like to pass the blame onto the assessor's office as if they set the taxes. They don't. All the assessor's do is determine value. The politicians will champion the fact that they lowered the millage rate as a tax decrease when the truth is your taxes still went up because they didn't offset the increase of value. Now they are in a pickle because values have gone down and they can't pass it off on the assessor's. Good ole ROy Barnes pulled a fast one on us when he was in office by passing a farce of a tax exemption that really did nothing.

Hard to follow but I believe every word of it. But, it further illustrates my point which is...

Enough is never enough. It will always be business as usual with the politicians. Oh sure, they will play the "blame game"...

	Quote:	Mamacalled
	The politicians like to pass the blame onto the assessor's office as if they set the taxes.

While acting like they did us a favor...

	Quote:	Mamacalled
	The politicians will champion the fact that they lowered the millage rate as a tax decrease when the truth is your taxes still went up because they didn't offset the increase of value.

And even when they get caught with their pants down ...

	Quote:	Mamacalled
	Now they are in a pickle because values have gone down and they can't pass it off on the assessor's.

It doesn't change the outcome, which is higher taxes for you and me. In spite of the fact that the economy is in the tank, many of us have lost jobs and the value of our homes has dropped 20%+.

This is what we hear...

	Quote:	Chairman Charles Bannister
	“Bold action is needed to keep Gwinnett County a preferred place to live, work and raise a family. I would ask the Gwinnett families to sacrifice with me.”

The fact is that none of these politicians, at any level of government, has a clue what the outcome of their budgets/spending will be. I would go so far as to say that most of them know, for a fact, that they will end up with a short fall but they don't care.

Why not? Because they can always go to the tax payers to get more money and they always do. Then they can start the whole blame game, I am doing you a favor, bunch of BS, all over again. And, around and around and around we go and where it stops....NO it will never stop unless we find a way to cut the purse strings.

I say again...can you imagine this on a federal level? It is here folks; in the trillions not the millions.

[gmart74]

	Quote:	Bamaball2001
	If, in fact, you live in New York as I assume you do considering your avatar, then you live in the 2nd most socialist state in this nation; the 1st being Califorinia...on the west coast that you mentioned.

maryland is easily the most socialist state in the union. i thought places like this were made up and couldn't possibly be based in reality.

[Bamaball2001]

	Quote:	gmart74
	maryland is easily the most socialist state in the union. i thought places like this were made up and couldn't possibly be based in reality.

Maybe true. I was using rank as an illustration, not a fact. Never looked it up. I will revise my post based on your input. BUT...Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, etc. are all the same to me....socialist (AKA progressive) states.