DO YOU KNOW YOUR TAX SCORE? What is a tax score? The % of your gross income you pay in Federal, State, County, City, & Etc
Submitted by jsmith on August 7, 2009 - 5:40pm
taxes. You have to keep your receipts and keep books on where your money is going but it is worth it. Don't forget all the ultility taxes you pay and also your fuel receipts. We are expected to live on less and less. I'm down to living on 25% of my gross income. Guess who gets a greater cut than I do?
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It is getting tougher and tougher to get by and that is why this Independence Board of Education move to raise property taxes through a court order really has me upset.
I am not against pay all taxes or fair taxes but when a school board can petition one judge to raise property values for the sole purpose of increasing their tax revenue then something is very wrong!
If school boards THINK they need more revenue, they should submit it to a vote of the people. This running to court in order to set tax rates is an end run on democracy. I am not a lawyer, but I believe that what the School Board is trying to do is what lawyers call a "taking" and it is my understanding that the Constitution forbids it.
Thank you www.TeaPartyKC.com for bringing this issue to more peoples' attention by posting the information about this coming Tuesday Night's Board of Education Meeting at Bingham Middle School at 6 PM.
I don't agree with what the county did to the school districts. When it comes to paying taxes for education I have no problem with that. EDUCATION is the most important thing our tax dollars can support. People being educated to SUPPORT themselves is always cost effective. More education dollars will hopefully mean less money needed for law enforcement, prisons, etc. Jackson County should have left the assessments at the 2008 level until the real estate market came back. Now our schools have a money issue because they are receiving less money. Where I have a problem with taxes is when businesses are taxed to the point(2nd largest in the world) they can't pay their employees a good wage, update equipment, provide health care insurance, a pension or possibly match a 401(k).
The county did nothing to the school districts. They readjusted property values to reflect their values like they've been doing since they adopted the policy to reappraise every other year. Schools liked the program as property values went up and they had higher assessed valuations. Bottom line, schools get 75% of the property taxes so they're squeeling the loudest. I can't hardly blame the county for property assessments falling in a recession. The school districts need to explain this more clearly just what is their grievence. If your sympathy is with business, business assessed valuation is 33% of market value while residential assessed valuation is 19% of value. I just got my real estate assessments and I have a commercial office and personal residence, they lowered my residence 8% and left my office unchanged. I'm thinking the county is looking at this from a position of crowd management and manpower to deal with reassessment
I don't disagree that education is important. However, I will never believe that the Independence school district would be completely unable to educate children if the assessments stay just as they now are.
Why should Jackson County NOT adjust assessments up or down as the markets dictate? Are you suggesting that they should lie about what a property is worth, just because some tax recipient won't like what happens to their piece of the pie?
I never heard the school district moaning as my assessment climbed in value through the years... you know that alot of those years were hard for me and my income sure wasn't keeping pace with the rate that my assessment (and therefore taxes) were going up. Do you think that if I'd have gone before the equalization board that they'd have lowered my assessment just because I was having trouble paying it????? H*ll no, and they better not raise my assessment just because the ISD is unhappy that they'll be getting less money. The ISD needs to do like everyone else and tighten their belts.
Complacency is the enemy. Be educated. Be aware. Be involved.
Have you attended any of the meetings that Dr Hinson has had in the last six months? I have, and I wonder what is going on in the assessors office. I of all people (don't have any children in school but I do have grandchildren) don't want to pay more taxes. I live on 25% of my gross income. Education is the only thing I'm for when it comes to taxes. The way the assessor has done this assessment has hurt not only the school districts (children being educated) but also the homeowner. Myself included.
Well jsmith, maybe the problem with this is YOU have been attending these meetings, where is everyone else? I have children in the district in question, and I know nothing, other than a press release on TV. I have found it is easier for th ISD to have the community leaders or the ones who will agree with anything they utter, who usually do not have children(sometimes they haven't had grandchilren in the distict for over 40 years) in the district to be personally notified, then to have parents who are actually a part of the district and that is why I don't support this. If Jim Hinson wants to get support than he needs to talk to parents who actually have kids in the district, put it on the table for them. Let them decide. Doesn't that sound like a fair and resonable request? The parents have been left out for a long, long time.
How does your assessment going down HURT you? Unless maybe you're one of those people who consider a house as just another investment to flip (and flop) as markets dictate, rather than as a home that you'll be living in for a long time. I was GLAD to see my assessment go down (for the first time since I've lived here, nearly 20 years), that means less taxes I have to pay. I have enough equity in my house that prices would have to go quite a bit lower before I'd be "upside down", but even if they did, I wouldn't care, because I know that real estate prices will eventually rise.... and even if they don't my house payment is cheaper than what I'd pay for rent.
Complacency is the enemy. Be educated. Be aware. Be involved.
The Dime: a dollar with all the taxes taken out
Complacency is the enemy. Be educated. Be aware. Be involved.