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Thread: Anybody watch albany week on PBS, about lowering property taxes

  1. #1
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    Anybody watch albany week on PBS, about lowering property taxes

    Anybody watch albany week on PBS, about lowering residential property taxes

    Seems that Spitzer is looking for a drastic cut if not outright elimination of residential property taxes. No word on where the revenue will be replaced from corporate taxes or income tax....though.

    but that got me thinking....SINCE EVERYONE KEEPS COMPLAINING ABOUT SPRAWL THEN WHY NOT SIMPLY ELIMINATE PROPERTY TAXES FROM EVERY MUNICIPALITY THAT HAS A DROP IN EMPLOYMENT OR POPULATION.

    OR .... WHY NOT ELIMINATE PROPERTY TAXES FROM THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS DISTRICT.

    OR WHY NOT SIMPLY DRAW BOUNDARY LIMITS LIKE PORTLAND DID AND THEN MAKE EVERYTHING WITHIN THE BOUNDARY FREE FROM RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TAXES....AND EVERYTHING OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARY (IE NEW DEVELOPMENT) PAY PROPERTY TAXES.

    ANY ONE OF THESE IDEAS WOULD CREATE A RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT BOOM

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    Member concernedwnyer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Timmy
    Anybody watch albany week on PBS, about lowering residential property taxes

    Seems that Spitzer is looking for a drastic cut if not outright elimination of residential property taxes. No word on where the revenue will be replaced from corporate taxes or income tax....though.

    but that got me thinking....SINCE EVERYONE KEEPS COMPLAINING ABOUT SPRAWL THEN WHY NOT SIMPLY ELIMINATE PROPERTY TAXES FROM EVERY MUNICIPALITY THAT HAS A DROP IN EMPLOYMENT OR POPULATION.

    OR .... WHY NOT ELIMINATE PROPERTY TAXES FROM THE DOWNTOWN BUSINESS DISTRICT.

    OR WHY NOT SIMPLY DRAW BOUNDARY LIMITS LIKE PORTLAND DID AND THEN MAKE EVERYTHING WITHIN THE BOUNDARY FREE FROM RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TAXES....AND EVERYTHING OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARY (IE NEW DEVELOPMENT) PAY PROPERTY TAXES.

    ANY ONE OF THESE IDEAS WOULD CREATE A RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT BOOM

    Who is going to pay for the infrastructure costs??????? Sewage pumping station are not free. Water booster pumping stations are not free, Cable, road work is not free........... It is not practical to completely eliminate but there ar ethings that could be doen to reduce the costs...... Giambra was partially correct when he pitched the consolidation plans..... You do not all these little groups of departments for every little town.....

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    Tony Fracasso - Admin
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    Our income tax should cover a lot of that. We eliminate a lot of the welfare crap we have and I bet we can cover a lot of it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by concernedwnyer

    Who is going to pay for the infrastructure costs??????? Sewage pumping station are not free. Water booster pumping stations are not free, Cable, road work is not free........... It is not practical to completely eliminate but there ar ethings that could be doen to reduce the costs...... Giambra was partially correct when he pitched the consolidation plans..... You do not all these little groups of departments for every little town.....
    I believe Timmy stated "Property Taxes".

    Sewage and Water are not taxes. They are user fees, and are billed as such.

    Cable??? Talk to Time Warner about that.

    Road upkeep is supposed to be paid thru motor fuel (gasoline & diesel) tax charged at the pump.

    And one you didn't mention...Education.

    Wasn't the NY Lottery supposed to take that burden from us?

    As far as Joel's (or anyone else's) regionalism plan, I'm not convinced that One Big Bureaucracy™ would be any more efficient, or less corrupt that a bunch of little ones.

    Please see Government, Federal, for one example.

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    Member Edisonic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Effigy
    I believe Timmy stated "Property Taxes".

    Sewage and Water are not taxes. They are user fees, and are billed as such.
    Sewage and water certainly are taxes, in the City of Buffalo. Besides the "sewer rent" directly ON the tax bills, we are charged again every quarter. The water rates are outlandish, and much higher than in desert cities such as Phoenix. When the Buffalo politicians and unions want more money in their pockets, it gets added to the sewer, water, and garbage rates. Then they pump more than 40% of the water directly into the ground via leaks, and tell us we need meters to "reduce waste". Cripes.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Edisonic
    Sewage and water certainly are taxes, in the City of Buffalo. Besides the "sewer rent" directly ON the tax bills, we are charged again every quarter. The water rates are outlandish, and much higher than in desert cities such as Phoenix. When the Buffalo politicians and unions want more money in their pockets, it gets added to the sewer, water, and garbage rates. Then they pump more than 40% of the water directly into the ground via leaks, and tell us we need meters to "reduce waste". Cripes.
    Oh boy. When I was much younger, I remember my parents b******g about this, because they couldn't itemize it as a *state or local tax* on their federal income tax return. However, we didn't live in Buffalo. It was a "fee", which is not deductable, even into the 21st century.

    If it's listed as a local tax, can't you deduct it on your 1040?

    I hear you about the cost of water here. The electricity costs to pump it is a signifigant factor. Ditto the cost of so many electrical pumps that it takes to deal with it once it becomes waste water.

    Most of the older areas (Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Cities of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda, Kenmore...) have large amounts of leakage. 50% or more is not surprising.

    The push to install meters (in the City of Buffalo - just about every other supplier already billed on actual useage) began in the '80s and early '90s to encourage conservation, about the time the lead (Pb) laws came in. What a mess that was. Still, you cannot flat bill on a consumable resource.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Effigy

    ..............And one you didn't mention...Education.

    Wasn't the NY Lottery supposed to take that burden from us?
    NNNOOOOOOOOO, effigy.The lottery was initiated to ADD to our education system, as Georgia is now doing. Instead, our state incorporated the profits INTO the education budget--not the original intent.

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