Posted on 01/09/2008 3:52:03 AM PST by databoss
"Instead of the town saying, 'Oh, my God! What kind of ravenous vampires have we become?' and lowering their...damned taxes, 'The town is pushing a program that would let seniors work part-time...to help pay off some of their property taxes.'"
From AP, we can't believe our eyes when we read, "Plan Would Let Seniors Work to Pay Taxes". It seems that in Greenburgh, N.Y., the damned local government is eating the financial guts out of its citizens. For example, a 76-year old woman named Audrey Davison lives alone, gets a $620 Social Security check per month ($7,440 a year), and has to pay $12,000 a year in property taxes on the house that she has lived in for 43 years! ...
(Excerpt) Read more at safehaven.com ...
“Forearms”. Yep, got two of ‘em myself. Also have several more “firearms”.
The original article that started this whole "pull at your heart strings story" had a quote from her where it said that she loved the idea of getting to work again.
You have to understand something about property taxes in New York State. First, County governments are responsible for funding 25% of the Medicaid bill the state sets. In some counties 100% of the property tax levy goes to pay this 25%. We are not that bad in my county, but that is only because our County Executive has been a good steward. I pay $10,500 a year on a $330,000 home. $6500 of that is for schools.
Second, assessment is a scam. It has no meaning. A house is worth only what someone will pay for it on the open market. For purposes of refi I have my home assessed at the highest possible figure. For the purposes of tax levy I have it assessed at the lowest. If assessment was a real thing those two numbers would be the same, but they are not.
IMHO property taxes violate the 5th and 14th amendments to the Constitution and should be outlawed.
If your talking about her mortgage, then it matters. This is about property taxes, which will continue long after she dies. Who ever owns the property pays the taxes.
About 232 years
Where did you get this not very specific information from?
the does it matter is that she owns it, the assesed tax is pure BS as far as I am concerned
... and, as far as I am concerned, school tax should stop when retirement starts, they should collect enough from those who actually have jobs that live in that community
This story is about property taxes, not income taxes. Property taxes no matter where in the country you live are all about how much property and what's on it when it comes to taxes. Do you own any property?
” we will take things from you for the greater good “
Just a little research. Tracked down her address and looked on Google Earth to see what the actual lot size and roof appearance of the house is. She lives on a court with houses of varying sizes and hers is nothing large or fancy. I have no idea what the actual sales value of her house would be. That area, near White Plains, used to be working class but has been gentrified lately so that the houses her court backs up to are large.
People just have to keep in mind that all land and property ultimately belongs to the government. “Ownership” of real estate grants the “owner” a somewhat greater degree of control over the property than a renter has, but the “owner” still pays rent in the form of property taxes and the government can take its property back from the “owner” any time it feels like doing so.
An excellent comparison to the kind of information I was looking for. Thank you!
lol no doubt!
I should correct myself . . . this article is right along the lines of what you’ve stated, but this story first came to light within the last week or so in a number of articles about the impact of high property taxes on senior citizens. Make no mistake about it — the ultimate goal here in the New York City area is a California-type system under which people who live in an area for a long time pay lower property taxes than their neighbors.
i bet she just LOVES her new job. they wouldn’t print anything about those who ar retired and want to stay that way, but are forced to work at whatever the city choses simply in order to keep their homes.
Yes, as should be obvious to you if you've been reading the posts on this thread.
ML/NJ
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=6+GREENACRES+LN,+WHITE+PLAINS,+NY+10607&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=46.630055,104.238281&ie=UTF8&t=h&om=1&ll=41.033083,-73.831902&spn=0.001991,0.002435&z=18ML/NJ
This is the kind of information I was talking about. If the original writer would have gone through the effort you did, and presented it as background, the story would have had an entirely different reaction. Instead it was written to make everyone angry. It appears to me that she should be thinking of selling, or get her family to help her out. If the local, county or state steps in to protect her, then it turns into a nanny-state situation.
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