A letter to the Asbury Park Press:
Top wage earners pay a fair share
The writer of the Feb. 14 letter “Reform formula basically unfair” would like people earning more to pay more in taxes. Well, they already do. The top 10 percent of wage earners pay almost 80 percent of all taxes collected, according to recent studies reported in most newspapers.
Everyone should have their property taxes reduced equally. School taxes make up about 75 percent of my property tax bill yet I have no children in the school system. Should I be exempt from this portion of my tax bill? No, I have a social responsibility to help pay for the education of others’ children.
I am in the upper-middle income bracket and would be eligible for a smaller tax credit, if any, than my neighbor, yet we have homes of equal value. He has several children in the school system. And people like the writer want me to pay more because I make more.
My wife and I worked hard to get where we are today and did not move to Monmouth County until we could afford to live here. If it gets to the point where I can no longer afford the taxes here, I will move. That’s what a responsible adult would do, not look for others to pay more so he can live where he cannot afford to live. I can’t afford to live in Rumson or other expensive towns, but I don’t sit and whine that the people who can should pay more in taxes so I can have my taxes artificially lowered.
If you cannot afford the taxes, vote with your feet and move somewhere more tax-friendly than New Jersey.
I agree 100% with the letter writer.
That sounds about right, if you don’t like NJ, you can walk. I’ve got a blooming brokerage account that has seven figures of profit and growing, I would be insane to sell now and pay 9% plus in capital gains tax to Corzine & crew, I’d rather change residences & rent down in Florida for a year, estimate expense 20K, save more than one hundred thousand doing so. What the Government bigwigs don’t understand is they CAN be replaced by exactly what the letter above said, people deciding to walk away. So, the state government does not even contemplate humility,…they will learn.
I would be insane to sell now and pay 9% plus in capital gains tax to Corzine & crew
1031 might be an option, there are caveats however.
jb
Hey Jon-Boy people moving out faster than you can say TAX INCREASE..should tell you something, less people to pay tax ,means fewer people paying more tax…..and where it stops nobody knows …..you better start giving Illegal aliens
W2’s or the only people left will be state workers http://www.unitedvanlines.com/united-newsroom/press-releases/2007/documents/2006-united-migration-study-04-07A.pdf
Two options: vote with your feet or do not vote tax-and-spend democrats.
If you cannot afford the taxes, vote with your feet and move somewhere more tax-friendly than New Jersey.
A few months ago, I was very gung-ho on getting the heck out of New Jersey. I started looking into it. The closer I look, the more the realization dawns on me that unless I’m willing to move into the boonies (I’m not) and/or willing to take on a lot more debt than I currently have (I’m not), I’m going to end up with a modest increase in standard of living, at best. I am not about to go from 3 bedroom 1500 sq ft condo to palace by moving out of this area. Maybe condo to 3-4 bedroom 2000sq ft house with a smallish lawn. Other thing I’ve noticed is the places I like have property taxes that aren’t as low as one would think.
The closer I look, the more the realization dawns on me that unless I’m willing to move into the boonies
Where did you look? Do you own your condo? If so, for how long? What do you consider the “boonies”?
I’ve noticed that the difference for people who bought 10 years ago might not be as great for a non-owner. For someone in my position (first time buyer, professional services industry, baby on the way), there would be a huge difference in the standard of living. I looked at areas like Raleigh/Cary and the suburbs of Charlotte & Atlanta. I don’t consider these areas the boonies, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
As far as taxes go, the differences can be significant. For example, I found a 3 bedroom cape in Clifton for $450k with $7,700 in taxes. A similar 3 bedroom cape in Raleigh costs about $125k with about $1,500 in taxes.
JB,
I have a post dated February 25th, 2007 at 1:52 pm that is awaiting moderation.
To be ahead of the curve ,that’s what you want to be .I don’t believe things will get better or even stay the same ,we are going to have MUCH higher taxes down the road .The past 7 years I have seen my property tax go up about 7% per year I’m now at $23,300. I’m stressed now if that was to double in another 5 years I’m dead in the water.by the way Corzine talks we will be lucky to keep it down to that level. MD. is my next stop,I’ll be cutting my taxes in half but more important I don’t see the increases that were looking at here.If you look around all the young people are not comming back here which should be a BIG concern .
While I agree with the basic theme of this letter writer, I don’t agree with this canard thrown about about who pays taxes. First he should have been clear about the number “The top 10% pay 64.89% (Down from 2000 figure: 67.33%). The top 25% pay 82.9% (Down from 2000 figure: 84.01%).
http://www.moderateindependent.com/v1i15taxnumbers.htm
If you look at the bottom 50% they make less than $26,000 per household/year. So not much left after paying medicare and FICA to social security. Oh but that number is never included as income tax right? But it is used to float a budget and is the basis for those tax cut that were given because “it is your money”
BTW, that letter could just as easily have been written by my father.
State workers receive an annual cost-of-living increase in their pension checks — about 4.8 percent for workers who received an increase in February, while private sector retirees rarely get a cost-of-living increase. They receive virtually free health care if they choose a managed care plan. And, for those with 25 years of service, their state-funded health insurance continues after they retire, if they put in 25 years of service