261–270 of 459 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, the goal is to overhaul the property tax system. This is going to raise property taxes for everyone. The ultra wealthy can just pack up and move. It doesn't affect them in the slightest. But in two years when the property tax overhaul is complete, the middle class will foot the bill. As per usual.
Can you explain how that would happen? This tax is limited to second homes only.
>While the tax seems large, experts say the city’s antiquated assessment and valuation system dramatically undervalues properties, reducing the burden. City valuations can often be 10% or less of the true market value, they said. >Rather than overhaul the system immediately, the city will gradually update valuations – and the tax – according to the budget documents. Starting in the 2028-2029 tax year, the property va…
"everyone's taxes will increase" is not true because lot of newer apartments don't get the chance to undervalue.
I jest.
Im not sure you understand what Im saying though. Wouldnt normal people's taxes go up because the appraisal changes are global? Say, a primary residence bought for $750k.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes.. spend enough time amongst the inheritocracy and you'll see the wealth is as often as not wasted on them. There's just too much fun to be had with 0.1% wealth that you didn't have to sacrifice your 20s, 30s (and maybe 40s) to build. Coast at some job with a top 25-50% income and 0.1% inheritance in NYC and live the life.
So if you're spending your inheritance living the high life, that economic activity benefits a lot of other people. Still a net positive in my view. I get the political power concern, and money = power at a certain point. But I'd rather work on getting money out of politics than putting limits on what people can decide will happen to their assets after they die.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>I would disagree, I think income taxes and inheritance taxes are morally wrong. So what taxes aren't "morally wrong"?
Consumption taxes and sin taxes. Consumption tax is sales/VAT tax excluding some necessities and capital goods. Yes, there are some awkward edge cases: in the UK the exclusions were food and children's clothes, which leads to battles over prepared cold food (e.g. sandwich), takeaway and restaurant dining. Sin taxes are obviously things society might want to discourage, mainly for health reasons, like alcohol and smok…
> Don't tax things you want: working / income and investment / capital gains.
What if I don't want hoarding of wealth?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the US, the inheritance taxes don't kick in until $15M ($30M for married couples). Even at 2 years old, a child can inherit more money than most people will make in their lifetime before a dime is paid to the IRS.
Federal inheritance taxes. There are also state inheritance taxes in many states. NY, for example, kicks in at ~$7M. MA kicks in at $2M.
Property tax is the workable wealth tax. There's no such thing as a perfect policy, but in the context of NYC this seems worth trying. I'll be interested to see if it helps create some liquidity in the housing market (the goal), or if it only functions as revenue source. One wrinkle I haven't heard much discussion of -- cities respond to incentives too. NYC is a global destination for the mega wealthy. If it turns ou…
The fairest and easiest to realize wealth tax is on inheritance. It is great to want to give your kids a headstart in the world, it is terrible for them and the people around them to set them up for life.
Fairest? I mean, land value tax is fair. So are Pigouvian taxes. In fact they're arguable more than fair. Not having these taxes is arguably unfair. Who deserves ownership of natural resources or to inflict negative externalities on others?
Taking things someone earned through labour and not letting them give it to who they want isn't very fair.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, you need to read the rest too: "While the tax seems large, experts say the city’s antiquated assessment and valuation system dramatically undervalues properties, reducing the burden. City valuations can often be 10% or less of the true market value, they said." It also mentions they plan to adjust property valuations in coming years, and when the valuations go up the rates will go down: "After the valuation adj…
Taxes has no income tax. NYC plus ny state has income tax at close to 10%.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Property tax is the workable wealth tax. There is a difference between property-as-primary-residence and property-as-secondary/tertiary-residence or property-as-proxy-for-parking-money. Property taxes handle the first scenario, wealth taxes handle the latter.
In San Diego we're voting on a new property tax that only applies to nonprimary residences. The landed gentry want you to believe that they can't be touched unless you're willing to kick your grandmother to the street, but we can absolutely write taxes that apply more narrowly, and sensible tax policy leads to better outcomes and fewer market distortions than hamfisted regulation.
* https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/property-taxes-util...
Property tax is the workable wealth tax. There's no such thing as a perfect policy, but in the context of NYC this seems worth trying. I'll be interested to see if it helps create some liquidity in the housing market (the goal), or if it only functions as revenue source. One wrinkle I haven't heard much discussion of -- cities respond to incentives too. NYC is a global destination for the mega wealthy. If it turns ou…
The fairest and easiest to realize wealth tax is on inheritance. It is great to want to give your kids a headstart in the world, it is terrible for them and the people around them to set them up for life.
How is it terrible for my kids to not have to break their back like I did to build the wealth I'm looking to pass on to them after I die? Why should they go through the same struggles that I did? It is up to them to squander it or transform it into even more wealth to pass it down to their children and so on. Ideally the former, but sometimes what parents dream for their children does not always come to pass.
> While the tax seems large, experts say the city’s antiquated assessment and valuation system dramatically undervalues properties, reducing the burden. City valuations can often be 10% or less of the true market value, they said. I heard about a system for this that struck me as brilliant. Make someone declare the value of their property. Then the government has the choice of taxing them at the scheduled rate, or bu…
Isn't that what got Guatemala invaded back in the 1950s?