In Shaw (an historically gentrified blog)

Cutting off your nose to spite your face- a rant

When I moved here from PG County my first shock was in the form of my newly adjusted paycheck. I can't remember the exact amount now but it was over $30 bucks in increased taxes on what was around about a $36,000py salary. The second shock, I think, was the odd sound of gunfire.
The Post reports that the City Council is looking at two tax proposals. I'm not too concerned about the inheritance tax, because of my age. However, as a homeowner I would love it if the city capped the real estate tax increase at 5%, down from 10%. However, the voice of opposition to the 5% is that it would be a tax break for the wealthy.
Honey, it would be a tax break for me, and I'm very sure I'm not wealthy. How do I know, well if I were to go out and have a car like the average American, I couldn't eat. The insurance and gas would kill me. As it stands now my mortgages with RE taxes and homeowners insurance eat up 1/2 of my take home pay. That's even after I reduced the amount I contribute to my retirement. It seems one has to plow over the middle class to try to punish the rich.
The current real estate tax system rewards people who stay put. Longtime residents pay way less in taxes for the same type house on the same block, than someone just buying a house now. Is that fair? I dunno. But I wouldn't complicate the system specifically to punish them for not trading up in house and staying put. Supposedly the system does punish abandoned properties for being abandoned properties regardless of the income of the properties' owners. Someone who has been around long enough probably knows how to play the system to evade the higher vacant property tax.
Anyway, whoever is in charge please don't take out your frustrations with the wealthy out on the middle class. You already tax my income more than the surrounding areas (for a single car-less person). You tax my property according to an amount I couldn't pay if I were to try to buy my house today.
Also the property taxes seem unfair to the small non-big chain businesses we love, but that's another rant for another day.

Labels: taxes

posted by Mari @ 3.5.07