Texas Poll Shows Allen West Crushing Gov. Greg Abbott!

[Reagan]

Well, this is interesting!

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[Unwoke]

At this point I think Elmer Fudd could crush Abbott. Abbott will not get my vote….that is if my vote doesn’t get flipped with out my knowledge. 

[baddog]

Anybody but Beto! Abbott is ok in my book, but I like West too.

[bullets13]

would love to see it.  

[InMAGAWeTrust]

I wish any single person would address how ridiculous property taxes are in this state. Writing a 5 figure check every single year, for something I “own”, is insane

 

And I’m fortunate enough to still be working. Retired homeowners with fixed or low incomes are really getting the shaft.

 

I’d trade a lower prop tax for a lower state income tax in a heartbeat. Ideally have neither, but just thinking.. it’d be breakeven now, but when I retire I’d come out ahead 

[tvc184]

7 hours ago, InMAGAWeTrust said:

I wish any single person would address how ridiculous property taxes are in this state. Writing a 5 figure check every single year, for something I “own”, is insane

 

And I’m fortunate enough to still be working. Retired homeowners with fixed or low incomes are really getting the shaft.

 

I’d trade a lower prop tax for a lower state income tax in a heartbeat. Ideally have neither, but just thinking.. it’d be breakeven now, but when I retire I’d come out ahead 

The fair way to do it is to eliminate the property tax and go with an income tax. That thought however it’s repugnant to most people, especially those who do not own property. I believe the Texas Constitution forbids an income tax so it’s not merely a matter of enacting a law, the Constitution have to be changed. That would take an election of the people and I can just about guarantee that people will not want any income tax and again, especially those who do not own properties.

[5GallonBucket]

10 hours ago, tvc184 said:

The fair way to do it is to eliminate the property tax and go with an income tax. That thought however it’s repugnant to most people, especially those who do not own property. I believe the Texas Constitution forbids an income tax so it’s not merely a matter of enacting a law, the Constitution have to be changed. That would take an election of the people and I can just about guarantee that people will not want any income tax and again, especially those who do not own properties.

 

18 hours ago, InMAGAWeTrust said:

I wish any single person would address how ridiculous property taxes are in this state. Writing a 5 figure check every single year, for something I “own”, is insane

 

And I’m fortunate enough to still be working. Retired homeowners with fixed or low incomes are really getting the shaft.

 

I’d trade a lower prop tax for a lower state income tax in a heartbeat. Ideally have neither, but just thinking.. it’d be breakeven now, but when I retire I’d come out ahead 

Who pays the tax assessor?

I don’t allow them on my property. “No trespassing” signs posted. Gates locked. 3 “not friendly” Anatolian shepherd/Great Pyrenees to greet them.

Surrounded by woods…You can assess from the road…..good luck with that.

the first time they came (before I had dogs and a gate up) I wasn’t home.  Sorry individual taxed my hen house made out of used rusty sheet metal.

 

[CardinalBacker]

20 minutes ago, 5GallonBucket said:

 

Who pays the tax assessor?

I don’t allow them on my property. “No trespassing” signs posted. Gates locked. 3 “not friendly” Anatolian shepherd/Great Pyrenees to greet them.

Surrounded by woods…You can assess from the road…..good luck with that.

the first time they came (before I had dogs and a gate up) I wasn’t home.  Sorry individual taxed my hen house made out of used rusty sheet metal.

 

For what it's worth, that's not the tax assessor, that's a appraiser from the Appraisal District that's looking at your place. 

They'll just do it by satellite.  Or they hit you with a notice of appraised value high enough to make you protest.  If you don't like the values they come up with, you'll let them do their job.  Or you can just pay that bill that's created using an artificially high value because of your dogs/gates.  Or you can refuse to pay and they'll sell it somebody who will pay the taxes on it.  You don't HAVE to pay property taxes. 

The tax system isn't the problem.  It's local politicians wanting to grow their empires that keep your taxes on the increase.  I find it laughable that people who cry about the lack of athletic facilities in our area (compared to higher tax areas in NE Texas) and the sad state of coaches' pay in our area turn around and complain about their taxes being too high. 

My opinion is that local taxes (county/school/cities) are out of control.  But the solution isn't to do away with the property tax system... You're still gonna pay the same amount, just in some other form. What would you like to pay an additional $4k dollars (or whatever your property tax bill is) for this year? Your income?  A 25% sales tax rate? How much will that add to the price of your already inflated new car that you have to buy?

The problem is the fleet of new vehicles around every government facility.  When the legislature locked counties/cities/ESDs to a 3.5% limit on new tax dollars generated (without an election) a few years back, they almost revolted.... because they were used to being "limited" to an 8% growth on new tax dollars generated.  Unfortunately SB2 didn't do anything to curb out of control school spending, and that's where the bulk of your tax bill goes.  

We had about a thousand kids in the school where I graduated.  A principal, Asst principal, and two counselors.  Do you know how many administrators most schools have these days? 

[5GallonBucket]

9 minutes ago, CardinalBacker said:

For what it's worth, that's not the tax assessor, that's a appraiser from the Appraisal District that's looking at your place. 

They'll just do it by satellite.  Or they hit you with a notice of appraised value high enough to make you protest.  If you don't like the values they come up with, you'll let them do their job.  Or you can just pay that bill that's created using an artificially high value because of your dogs/gates.  Or you can refuse to pay and they'll sell it somebody who will pay the taxes on it.  You don't HAVE to pay property taxes. 

The tax system isn't the problem.  It's local politicians wanting to grow their empires that keep your taxes on the increase.  I find it laughable that people who cry about the lack of athletic facilities in our area (compared to higher tax areas in NE Texas) and the sad state of coaches' pay in our area turn around and complain about their taxes being too high. 

My opinion is that local taxes (county/school/cities) are out of control.  But the solution isn't to do away with the property tax system... You're still gonna pay the same amount, just in some other form. What would you like to pay an additional $4k dollars (or whatever your property tax bill is) for this year? Your income?  A 25% sales tax rate? How much will that add to the price of your already inflated new car that you have to buy?

The problem is the fleet of new vehicles around every government facility.  When the legislature locked counties/cities/ESDs to a 3.5% limit on new tax dollars generated (without an election) a few years back, they almost revolted.... because they were used to being "limited" to an 8% growth on new tax dollars generated.  Unfortunately SB2 didn't do anything to curb out of control school spending, and that's where the bulk of your tax bill goes.  

We had about a thousand kids in the school where I graduated.  A principal, Asst principal, and two counselors.  Do you know how many administrators most schools have these days? 

Sorry. Meant appraiser

I agree I don’t understand why people want top of the line athletic crap. It’s sports people. And this is coming from a former college athlete.  You don’t need all that to be successful….

Way too many administrators…made up positions now days. 
warren just hired a behavioral specialist…..when I was in school it was called a paddle and when swung it made a thud sound and the behavior was corrected.

If I pay to improve my property (materials/labor)….then I have to pay yearly for that same improvement , then I have to pay again for same improvement if I sell the property.  
 

it’s the local/county level that’s out of control.

To me the appraiser is a conflict of interest….

taxing me on a kids playhouse and a rusty hen house.🤦‍♂️

[CardinalBacker]

4 hours ago, 5GallonBucket said:

 

If I pay to improve my property (materials/labor)….then I have to pay yearly for that same improvement , then I have to pay again for same improvement if I sell the property.  

This part I'm not sure about.

The idea that in some places you should pay 3% of what your home is worth annually just to continue to own it is preposterous.  Those old days of owning a rental property and calculating 10x the monthly rent as your gross income and allowing the other two months to cover your taxes/insurance are long gone.  A house that rents for $1500/month in mid county would likely carry a $4000 + annual tax bill.  That's just not feasible, but somebody has to feed the pigs, I guess.  

Your best bet when dealing with the CAD is to fight them within the confines of their framework.  Protest, Arbitration, etc.... The people who don't fight them are subject to random/huge increases.  Mine bounced from $140k to $240k this year... I protested and got it down to $210k, but with the tax ceiling this year it's held to somewhere in the 170s... but it will go up 10% a year until it hits the $210k.  The thing is this... my place is worth every bit of that.

Those old days of owning a $125k dollar house and paying taxes on a $75k dollar house are gone.  If your new actual market value is $200k, you pay taxes on that entire $200k.   Which is how it should have been all along.  The unfortunate part of rising real estate prices is that while your property is worth more, you don't realize that increase in value unless you sell... but you're taxed on that increased value every year until then.