Why Are Your Property Taxes So Darn High?
While the majority of people pay the most attention to the taxes they see regularly, i.e. income and sales tax, there are other taxes that cost you a lot of money that you may tend to forget about. One of those taxes that cost a lot, but that kind of goes unnoticed is property tax. In fact, depending on where you live and how much property you own, your property taxes can be huge. For some people, like residents of New Jersey for example, property taxes seem extreme.
A 2014 study by Monmouth University found that 26 percent of New Jersey residents said that they were “very likely” to move to a different state, with the most common reason being the high price of housing and property taxes – with property taxes being the main culprit. Residents of Connecticut and New York are also often on the list of highest property taxes. Why is that some locations have much higher property taxes than others?
There are several reasons that property taxes vary from state to state and city to city. Here are just a few of the main causes:
- State employees make a lot of money – if your state pays its workers well, like New Jersey does, then chances are your property taxes are higher in order to help foot that bill.
- Not Much Tourism – if your state lacks a lot of out-of-town visitors then property taxes could be higher to make up for lost revenue.
- Good schools – in order to have the best schools you have to pay for the best teachers and education services. The funds for those expenses often come from property taxes.
- Valuable property – no matter where you live, if you have a valuable home then you will almost assuredly pay more in property taxes. That’s because your property tax is based on the assessed value of your home times the local tax rate. A higher value home equals higher property taxes.
There are other possible reasons for high property taxes, but these are some of the most common. If you want to avoid outrageous property taxes, then your best bet is to simply move to a state where property taxes are lower.
Building Confidence in Your Career | Andrew Bergman
About Andrew Bergman Andrew is an accomplished writer with extensive experience in the field of media/entertainment. He launched his career as a freelance writer as well as translating books. He then had the opportunity to create and write many segments for Good Morning America and a variety of other ABC Network programs until the…
Networking: How to Stand Out | Paul Bagen
About Paul Bagen For more than 20 years, Paul has assisted businesses and individuals in the reaching of their professional and personal goals. He has extensive experience as a public speaker, instructor and coach. His passion is training, motivating and coaching others to achieve their goals and realize their dreams in life. “Through the…
Conscious Leadership Institute | Cam Danielson
About Cam Danielson Cam is a partner at MESA Research Group and co-founder and principal at the Conscious Leadership Institute. His work focuses on assisting leaders and management teams to revision future direction and opportunity amid the turbulence of personal, organizational, and societal change. Cam has distinctive competence in delivery of mindfulness workshops, executive…
Authors that Inspire | Jeff Benedict
About Jeff Benedict Jeff Benedict is a distinguished professor of writing and mass media at Southern Virginia University. He is an award-winning investigative journalist, essayist, and a best-selling author. He is a contributing writer for Sports Illustrated, and his work has appeared numerously in the Los Angeles Times, and the Hartford Courant. Benedict’s books…