New York City (and maybe the state as well) are generating outrage by proposing to tax residential real estate that isn’t a primary residence at a higher rate than the same property would pay if occupied by somewho who was a full-time NYC resident.
What other city or state indulges in this outrageous abuse of society’s successful? Florida! Let’s look at starter homes in Palm Beach. Here’s one that was purchased for $4.45 million in 2011 and is today worth $14.3 million (Zillow).
The tax assessment is still less than the purchase price, presumably due to the fact that the assessed value for a “homestead” (primary residence) can’t go up more than 3 percent or the increase in CPI, whichever is lower:
If there were an identical house next door and it sold for $14 million to someone who used it only 4 months per year, the town/county could collect property tax on the full value, i.e., 3X the tax rate paid by the primary resident.
A surcharge for part-time residents generates outrage. A discount for full-time residents doesn’t upset anyone. NYC could have doubled property tax rates, with state permission, and then offered a steep discount for anyone who pays resident NYC income tax.
I wonder if a Seminole owns the starter home in Palm Beach? I’m thinking no. Give it back, unless they are a Republican.
By the way, Phil have you heard of “rail voltage” in amplifier design? I’m not sure “New York City (and maybe the state as well) are generating outrage” is correct. All I hear anymore is constant, nasty transistor square-wave clipping from politics thanks to the social media micro bully pulpits.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipping_(audio)
With the lights out, it’s less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
— Nirvana, Smells Like Teen Spirit
I’m not sure Cobain would feel any less “stupid and contagious” on social media. Manufactured outrage, yawn. I wonder if the kids wearing Nirvana T-shirts even know what it means. I think Cobain was one of us GenX neo hippies. We won’t be fooled again. Hit over the head and our futures taken away, maybe, but not fooled.
What are they going to do with the extra tax money anyway, spend it on millionaire public university presidents like Michigan? ($2+ million per annum for UM and MSU presidents.) The weed money tax windfall (even more this year, a 25% tax on wholesale) sure as hell isn’t spent on continuous road paving.
The fact that all over the country property tax rate inequities do not generate outrage the way supposed income tax inequities do never ceases to surprise me. All over the country as a consequence of all different types of property tax schemes you end up with two properties that can be side-by-side and equivalent in every discernable way but which pay radically different tax rates. …and it just doesn’t bother most people.
I agree with this. And this is even worse from an economics point of view due to the distortion it causes
Oh, it bothers many people — especially the recent buyers who have a shockingly big property tax bill, a hard reset after years of Biden-flation protection for the previous infestation, er owner.