Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
7y
So you'll pay if you pollute the water, pay if you don't pollute the water, and pay if the government pollutes the water. Classy!
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4 Reply
Alicia H.
Rental Property Investor · Oreland, PA · Member since 2017 · 51 posts · 32 votes
7y
Before you know it, air will be taxed too!
2 Reply
Charlie MacPherson
China, ME · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
@Pat L. Easy solution. Leave NJ and move to MA. Not only do we not speak with an accent, we also have SIX SUPER BOWL RINGS.
That and we don't tax the rain.
10 Reply
William W.
Rental Property Investor · south Alabama · Member since 2018 · 121 posts · 88 votes
7y
So if you have a gravel parking lot you’re exempt from the tax?
1 Reply
Pat L.
OP
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
"So if you have a gravel parking lot you’re exempt from the tax?"
There will be a huge demand for neighboring Wet lands :))
@Charlie MacPherson loved the Super Bowl Rings comment esp., coming from 'Taxachusetts' . But I'm an Aussie expat so you guys don't even play real man's footy. Only protection we ever had was a jock strap & shorts most of our jerseys got ripped off. Plus we played the full 20mins/quarter no relief. Plus no Gatorade we had to swill beer.
3 Reply
Charlie MacPherson
China, ME · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
@Pat L. Believe it or not, I don't even follow professional sports. I grew up in Boston and had my heart ripped out and stomped on so many times, I just walked away from it all.
I remember 20 years or so ago, before the Red Sox started winning, we had bumper stickers that said "Boston Red Sox - 1918 World Champions".
Nobody around here play rugby. It's fun to watch if you can figure out what all the mayhem is about.
As far as taxes, we're sure not the cheapest state around. But there are some that have us beat. I saw a facebook post a few days ago where a guy was comparing the state by state cost of registering his SUV. In CA it was almost $750. In MA it was $60. NJ has unimaginable real estate taxes. NY will soon tax you for thinking. IL is close to insolvent.
But like I said, at least we don't talk with an accent.
PS - everybody knows that Hahvad Yahd is a no parking zone. And we don't waste the missing "r"s. We save them for words that need them. Like Cuber. As in "I hear they have nice bannaners in Cuber".
7 Reply
Colleen F.Pro Member
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
I saw this and thought can't they manage to do this off what they have in the coffers now. Like MA they haven't seen a tax they don't like though. If they really want to make an impact they should tax lawn fertilizer as it is what is in the runoff that's a problem.
@Charlie MacPherson I have lived in both NJ and MA, they are equally bad on taxes for sure. I would say MA has an edge ahead on taxes for what they deliver. To register your car in MA you pay registration $60, half a day of work to get it done and on top of that a yearly vehicle tax NJ doesn't have. The cost of the bureaucracy to chase people down for low value cars just doesn't make sense. And for property taxes they don't even pick up your trash in MA. CA beats all though, not moving there.
On a side note I think aussie football isn't Rugby. It is an Australian game played different from US football.
0 Reply
Charlie MacPherson
China, ME · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
@Colleen F. I'll consider myself educated about Australian football. I don't know the first thing about it.
Believe it or not, the MA RMV has vastly improved. I renewed my registration in November at the Plymouth RMV and it took me 5 minutes. Seriously - 5 minutes. I was so impressed that I gave the RMV kudos on facebook - and I really thought that Satan would suffer frostbite before I ever did that.
We do have an excise tax. It's usually $100 or less per year, but still annoying. Like the sales tax that was promised to be fixed at 1% and used only for education. Now it's 6.25% and used for who knows what.
Some towns do include trash pickup. Some don't. I live in the forest in W. Plymouth and my driveway is 2,000 feet long. It's very steep and all dirt so the garbage trucks couldn't make it up here. We take it to the dump. Small price to pay for the isolation and privacy in our 5 acres of forest that's surrounded by another 30 acres of conservation forest!
0 Reply
Matt Millard
Lewisville, TX · Member since 2015 · 344 posts · 264 votes
7y
You guys wouldn’t believe that I call TEXAS Taxes because of the insane high property tax & other fees. The cost of living here is now higher than Illinois. Starter home are $350k an hour & a half drive from the city here & with 3% property tax it’s like the payment on a $500k plus in Oklahoma or Colorado! That will buy you a mansion in Oklahoma!
1 Reply
Joe SplitrockPro Member
Moderator
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Alicia H.:

Before you know it, air will be taxed too!
It is called carbon tax and it is happening today. I guess the argument by those promoting air and water taxes is that those who pollute it should pay to clean it. Unfortunately the tax money isn't always used for the intended purpose.
0 Reply
Pat L.
OP
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Matt Millard:

You guys wouldn’t believe that I call TEXAS Taxes because of the insane high property tax & other fees. The cost of living here is now higher than Illinois. Starter home are $350k an hour & a half drive from the city here & with 3% property tax it’s like the payment on a $500k plus in Oklahoma or Colorado! That will buy you a mansion in Oklahoma!
Yeah & Texas doesn't even have rain unless it comes packaged in a hurricane or off-shore storm system.
Aussie rules is our football, Rugby is legalized on-field slaughter. Played Rugby while at University & it was tough. My knees today have fond memories of those days. We had to share our dorms/showers/club house with both the woman's rowing 8 & their rugby team. Those 'ladies' commanded a LOT of respect.
0 Reply
Colleen F.Pro Member
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
@Charlie MacPherson Only reason I know about aussie football is some australian connections and my kids played Rugby for a bit in NJ. Can you send some of that RMV karma out here to the Worcester area!
I do wish any time they implement a tax they would have to evaluate the bureaucracy cost because it seems stupid to enact taxes like this rain tax and the MA excise tax that probably cost more to collect then they bring in to the coffers.
0 Reply
Charlie MacPherson
China, ME · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
@Pat L. The women rugby players remind me of the time I was at the bar...
I heard 3 women talking and listening to their accents, I said "So, are you ladies from Scotland?"
They replied, "It's Wales you idiot"
To which I said, "I'm sorry. So are you whales from Scotland?"
And that's the last thing I remember...
2 Reply
Dennis M.
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
7y
a rain tax a tax on air we breathe. a tax for this a tax for that all in the name of doing good for others lol . If I didn’t know any better I’d say I’m starting to see a trend . Is it possible there’s a reason people call them :
tax and spend $&@$als ?
0 Reply
Pat L.
OP
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
& then tenants wonder why rich money grubbing landlords keep raising rents to cover o/head. Not realizing that the monthly escrow for taxes exceeds that of mortgage payments even at high interest rates. Then if you're foolish enough to improve the outside of your rental building the assessment will be raised.
We have a refugee couple that I helped get employment. We literally furnished their apartment with nice unwanted furniture from a friend. They were also given a vehicle by the local church.
They quit their jobs when their hours were increased so much that they lost their FREE healthcare. Then they complained about the $25/month rental increase because they couldn't afford it. So now I was refugee-phobic until they realized that cheaper rents were possible in the hood.
But I do love this business.
1 Reply
Joe SplitrockPro Member
Moderator
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Pat L.:

& then tenants wonder why rich money grubbing landlords keep raising rents to cover o/head. Not realizing that the monthly escrow for taxes exceeds that of mortgage payments even at high interest rates. Then if you're foolish enough to improve the outside of your rental building the assessment will be raised.
We have a refugee couple that I helped get employment. We literally furnished their apartment with nice unwanted furniture from a friend. They were also given a vehicle by the local church.
They quit their jobs when their hours were increased so much that they lost their FREE healthcare. Then they complained about the $25/month rental increase because they couldn't afford it. So now I was refugee-phobic until they realized that cheaper rents were possible in the hood.
But I do love this business.
Our property taxes are 30% higher on non-owner occupied properties. I end up passing all my tax increases on to my tenants, so rent goes up then politicians complain about rent being so high. I don't know why they don't understand that a tax on a landlord is a tax on the tenant. And a tax on a business is a tax on their customer.
3 Reply
Jason D.
Rental Property Investor · St. Petersburg, FL · Member since 2017 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
@Pat L. New Jersey tax problem is the doing of its citizens. Every tiny little community wants their own police force, fire department, and school district. For comparison, NJ has over 600 school districts, NJ has 9 million people. Florida just passed 20 million people, and has 74 school districts. The citizens of NJ want their own "everything" but then expect it to be free. NJ made it's own bed....
4 Reply
Matt M.
Specialist · Easton, PA · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
@Pat L.
Something very similar was just implemented here in Easton, Pa
0 Reply
J Chad Davis
Rental Property Investor · Galveston, TX · Member since 2018 · 49 posts · 29 votes
7y
@Pat L. My hometown in Texas has over 24 inches annual rainfall and where I live now - also in Texas - has about 44 inches annually, which feels like a lot to me. What kind of weather do you have? I’m wondering if I could feel any wetter!
0 Reply
Matthew Paul
Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
7y
You can thank Maryland for the "Rain Tax " idea . we were the first I believe .
And yes the commercial gets hit hard .
1 Reply
JR M.
Investor · SC · Member since 2016 · 89 posts · 35 votes
7y
Take it from a California resident that has lived, worked and invested in NY, NJ, TX, and CA, that CA is the most hostile place for anybody with an income. I was recently given an invalid parking ticket (voided by a second officer) and had to pay a 25% fee to have the county reverse it. In other words, I was forced to pay a fee for NOT breaking any laws.
0 Reply
Teri Feeney Styers
Real Estate Agent · Grand Junction, CO · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 736 votes
7y
@J Chad Davis fewer than 12 inches per year here. And Colorado ranks 48th out of 50 in state property taxes...
1 Reply
Bill S.Pro Member
Moderator
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
@Teri Feeney Styers so don't be too smug. City and County of Denver has a parcel tax to fund storm drainage improvements which is based on a ratio of impervious area and the parcel size. Same idea as the article referenced above. Coming soon to a municipality near you.
0 Reply
Teri Feeney Styers
Real Estate Agent · Grand Junction, CO · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 736 votes
7y
@Bill S. actually it has happened here and got shot down in the courts. The drainage district instituted a "fee" and we all paid it for several years while it was contested in the courts (the argument being that it was a tax - not a fee - and therefore had been implemented without proper voting). Now the district owes us all several million dollars. Truth is, many people (me included) are waiving our right to a refund because we recognize that they are simply trying to remedy a problem that still exists. However, because the fee/tax was assigned a similar value as property tax, and because property taxes are weighted against commercial properties, the fee/tax was burdensome to commercial property owners.
0 Reply
Bill S.Pro Member
Moderator
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
@Teri Feeney Styers I don't know the history of the fee/tax here. I don't think is weighted against commercial here but I'm guessing commercial pays more because they tend to have more impervious area. I would say this, Colorado is light years ahead of other states with regards to properly managing storm water run-off so as to prevent flooding and protect water quality. My previous life I dealt with storm water run-off for development and I had exposure to a half a dozen western states a couple dozen large cities and most only give lip service to water quality and properly managing run-off peaks from development when compared to the Denver Metro area. The Denver forefathers/mothers were great thinkers in regards to dealing with the limited resource of water in many ways.
1 Reply

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