easiest way to reduce property taxes

[RC1978]

They seem to run quite well, though.
NJ is rife with political hackery. Look no further than a certain Senator's fixation on loading the RU BOG with hacks.
Or the State Parole Board. Christie tried twice to put this loser from the Ocean County Freeholders on the parole board who had ZERO qualifications. After an uproar, he withdrew his name.
http://www.app.com/search/jack kelly/

Agree 100% they run well. But why wouldn't they? They have choice of the best students in the county with no problems and costs that have to do with special needs children etc. No one, other than the Freeholders look at their budget. Every town in MC sends money over to them without realizing you are paying schools taxes not just for your district but also for them.

As for political hackery, that would be the issue. Can you imagine the political machines having the ability to pick and choose 100's if not thousands of appointed school leaders? That whole Ocean County machine shows why so much is wrong in this state. People not qualified being "directors" of departments that they have no experience in whatsoever.

Surprising no one is bringing up local police forces. In my small to medium size borough a patrolmen gets paid over $100k in less than 7 years and of course we can talk forever about working 25 years, retire at 45 -50 and get health and $ 100k pensions for the next 30 years.

 

[NickKnight 1]

How about in my situation as a home owner for 44 years, paid for my kids
schooling and about two more generations after that. How about
a tax break for those who put 3 generations of kids through school.
There is a guy at work that was saying only seniors, should pay property
tax because the younger generation have a lot more they have to
spend on raising a family. How's that for turning things around?

 

[RC1978]

I have no idea how Monmouth County BOE members are selected. But even if they are appointed by the county or Trenton, it doesn't have to be that way. Somerset Hills Regional School System serves several towns in Somerset County. The BOE is selected by voters in those towns. The same model could be used by other regional school districts.

You are correct about Regional school districts. What has been proposed would be County wide school districts with control at a state level. I should correct you it is not Monmouth County BOE members they are Monmouth County vocational School District BOE members.

 

[Upstream]

If I don't send my kids to Public school, I shouldn't have to pay school tax? How about that?

That works for me, as long as it also applied to people who don't have kids or don't have kids that are between the ages of 5 and 18. I don't have kids, therefore I am not sending kids to Public School, and therefore I shouldn't have to pay school tax.

While we're at it, let's also eliminate the income tax deduction for children. If you have kids, why should I pay to give you a tax deduction. Eliminate this deduction, and everyone else's taxes could go down.

 

[KaKaKen]

Most towns are volunteer fire departments, but eliminating the fire apparatus will save a.lot. I would like to tell you about the fire engines and truck in my town, but I don't want to rile someone up.:scream:

I'd watch what you say. I've been banned for not saying fireman are all heros

 

[Upstream]

You are correct about Regional school districts. What has been proposed would be County wide school districts with control at a state level. I should correct you it is not Monmouth County BOE members they are Monmouth County vocational School District BOE members.

I agree with you that control at a state level does not make sense. But regional school districts with local control within the district is a workable solution.

 

[RUScrew85]

What is a good state to go to? They all pay for school, police, and fire as far I understand. We are liberal state, but not sure what you completely get rid of moving, you get more freedom in guns and such.

They don't all pay for as much unions and corruption. Many states have much lower costs of living that the shithole that is NJ.

 

[RUScrew85]

Make religious organizations pay taxes on their property.

And endowments for colleges.

 

[RUScrew85]

And let's stop paying people not to work.

 

[NotInRHouse]

I don't have kids, maybe I should just pay no property taxes?

Still looking for my reimbursement check on taxes paid on the Iraq war and Wall Street bailouts. I would much rather educate children.

 

[Upstream]

And let's stop paying people not to work.

Don't touch my pension, 401K, and IRA tax breaks. I'll kick your butt.

 

[ruhudsonfan]

simple.... you stick your d!ck in it, you pay for it... any questions?

You must have a line of people paying for your ass

 

[mikebal9]

I agree with you that control at a state level does not make sense. But regional school districts with local control within the district is a workable solution.

I was thinking along the lines of regional districts. I attended one with 3 High Schools and things were fine.

 

[RUJohnny99]

While we're at it, let's also eliminate the income tax deduction for children. If you have kids, why should I pay to give you a tax deduction. Eliminate this deduction, and everyone else's taxes could go down.

People paying AMT aren't getting the child deduction or property tax deduction. Thanks to NJ's high property & income tax, that's basically anyone who has 3 kids & is making over $120,000. I'd argue the people making under $120,000 NEED that tax break to make ends meet.

 

[nevets72]

There is so much ignorant and stupid fodder in this thread it is unreal.

 

[Upstream]

People paying AMT aren't getting the child deduction or property tax deduction. Thanks to NJ's high property & income tax, that's basically anyone who has 3 kids & is making over $120,000. I'd argue the people making under $120,000 NEED that tax break to make ends meet.

The median household income in NJ is about $72K (only Maryland is higher). About 25% of NJ households earn more than $125K.

If you argue that the people with kids earning less than $120K need the tax break to make ends meet, I would also argue that the people making more than $120K don't need the people earning less to subsidize their choice to send their kids to private schools. You say the people earning less than $120K are already struggling to make ends meet; they're already paying for the public schools; why make them pay additional for private schools for the top 25% too?

 

[Upstream]

There is so much ignorant and stupid fodder in this thread it is unreal.

I would guess that about half the comments are tongue-in-cheek. I would be really surprised if anyone were seriously suggesting euthanizing the elderly to save on healthcare costs.

 

[newwavedave1]

Live in a smaller house, move somewhere with lower taxes, or both. That's what I did and now have a much better quality of life.

 

[RUScrew85]

Don't touch my pension, 401K, and IRA tax breaks. I'll kick your butt.

I was thinking more about the Welfare based Free Shit Army. You pension guys at least had an agreement beforehand - even if it was not really fairly negotiated and impossible to fulfill.

 

[hoquat63]

Sorry to interject a little economic theory into the discussion. There is a concept known as externalities (or spillovers), Externalities can be either benefits or costs. Theory as applied to education says that both the individual receiving the education, who receives direct benefits, and the society as a whole, which receives external benefits, gain from education. For example, lets say a kid is too poor for his family to pay for education does not attend school, had he attended school it would have developed his intelligence and he would have discovered a cure for cancer, ED, baldness, or some other disease and so everyone would have benefited from his (or her, to be PC).
Also the thought that I paid for my kids education when I was in school thru taxes so I should not have to pay after they graduate may not really hold water (depending on # of kids). Let's assume that $10,000 is (and was - to adjust for inflation) a reasonable cost for education and to adjust for inflation my current school tax is $5,000 (really).. All three of my kids went to public school for 12 years (plus kindergarten - but I ignore that year). That means my kids education cost $360,000. At $5,000 a year (no interest on the debt), it will take 72 years in school taxes to cover the payment. Living here for 39 years, that means I only have 35 more years of taxes to pay off my kids education. (30 if you give me credit for taxes paid in other towns BK.
Regionalization is great -example of Green Brook, Dunellen (my town) and Middlesex given. Unfortunately, joining of GB and Dunellen was put to a vote in the 70's and voted down by the citizens of GB (who now send their high school students to Watchung Hills Regional). Dunellen, Middlesex, Bound Brook and SBB was proposed a few years later - Middlesex nixed the idea.

 

[RU22]

I pissed that I have to pay property taxes. They raised my taxes bc they didn't think I lived there. It's called a homestead deduction. Since they raised my taxes, "they can't adjust them to where they are suppose to be." My only option is lawyering up which doesn't make financial sense to do.

So I'm complaining that I got screwed over. [smoke]

You could burn down the house. That should reduce that property tax.

 

[UCFhonors]

You could burn down the house. That should reduce that property tax.

And I could stop working so I wouldn't have to pay income taxes.... Or how about agreeing that these taxes are inherently evil. [smoke]

 

[UCFhonors]

Sorry to interject a little economic theory into the discussion. There is a concept known as externalities (or spillovers), Externalities can be either benefits or costs. Theory as applied to education says that both the individual receiving the education, who receives direct benefits, and the society as a whole, which receives external benefits, gain from education. For example, lets say a kid is too poor for his family to pay for education does not attend school, had he attended school it would have developed his intelligence and he would have discovered a cure for cancer, ED, baldness, or some other disease and so everyone would have benefited from his (or her, to be PC).
Also the thought that I paid for my kids education when I was in school thru taxes so I should not have to pay after they graduate may not really hold water (depending on # of kids). Let's assume that $10,000 is (and was - to adjust for inflation) a reasonable cost for education and to adjust for inflation my current school tax is $5,000 (really).. All three of my kids went to public school for 12 years (plus kindergarten - but I ignore that year). That means my kids education cost $360,000. At $5,000 a year (no interest on the debt), it will take 72 years in school taxes to cover the payment. Living here for 39 years, that means I only have 35 more years of taxes to pay off my kids education. (30 if you give me credit for taxes paid in other towns BK.
Regionalization is great -example of Green Brook, Dunellen (my town) and Middlesex given. Unfortunately, joining of GB and Dunellen was put to a vote in the 70's and voted down by the citizens of GB (who now send their high school students to Watchung Hills Regional). Dunellen, Middlesex, Bound Brook and SBB was proposed a few years later - Middlesex nixed the idea.

I love economics, but externalities are the biggest bullshit arguments ever. They are a lame attempt to try to prove something without any actual evidence. It's literally like trying to prove a negative. [smoke]

 

[eceres]

Overall merging towns / sharing costs for regional services would help NJ a lot. However schools are some of the most controversial issues in regionalizing services.

Virginia has county wide school districts and has good school programs with noticeably lower cost per pupil.

As an aside New Jersey could have a decent sister city to New York city of 2-3 counties were to merge including Jersey City, Hoboken, Newark and accompanying areas, but it would be nearer impossible to actually pull off.

 

[mdh2003]

You are shortsighted my friend. Why not euthanize them before their old age becomes a health concern?

 

[FanuSanu52]

The only valuable part of this thread is that it's confirmed that a few guys that really shouldn't be breeding are, in fact, not breeding.

 

[FanuSanu52]

Live in a smaller house, move somewhere with lower taxes, or both. That's what I did and now have a much better quality of life.

And you live in a place that has a much better quality of life than virtually anywhere in NJ. As do I.

I'll never understand why so many people pay such a premium to live in a state so riddled with problems, expenses and inconveniences. It's not like they don't care - they complain about those things on a daily basis.

 

[koleszar]

Let's have a volunteer police department or a private police department where they are paid $15 hour instead of the $130k most cops make.

Lakewood is trying the Hasidic Jewish volunteer police force. Many of the surrounding towns are none too happy with it. Having unqualified, untrained people drive around with lights on, isn't really a great idea. They think it's a great idea to protect their own, but actually they're becoming a public nuisance. Their community could careless about the general public and feel it's their right to do whatever they please. Call them on it and they scream racism.

 

[oldman87]

This is why I decided to become homeless few years back.

 

[C0bra Kai]

Eliminate county government. That would knock down everybody's taxes roughly 25% right off the bat. Seriously, county government is such a needless scam entity for political patronage.

After that, start looking closely at costs of local services like cops/firemen and school employee payrolls. You can't do much about these costs though because the momentum isn't there to really address/change it.

 

[DJ Spanky]

You are shortsighted my friend. Why not euthanize them before their old age becomes a health concern?

 

[hoquat63]

I love economics, but externalities are the biggest bullshit arguments ever. They are a lame attempt to try to prove something without any actual evidence. It's literally like trying to prove a negative. [smoke]

I don't think you can say externalties don't exist - how you quantify their value is certainly a problem, one that I don't know an answer to

 

[Upstream]

I was thinking more about the Welfare based Free Shit Army. You pension guys at least had an agreement beforehand - even if it was not really fairly negotiated and impossible to fulfill.

My pension is privately funded by my company. But the state still allows be to qualify to take a pension exclusion on my retirement income tax.

 

[Blitz8RUCrazy]

easiest way to reduce property taxes

answer: Move out of NJ

 

[PhilaPhans]

Eliminate county government. That would knock down everybody's taxes roughly 25% right off the bat. Seriously, county government is such a needless scam entity for political patronage.

Lots of people saying merge things at the local level and you're saying eliminate the county level. Are you just referring to freeholders and the like? All the county services? What specifically are you looking to eliminate at that level?

 

[RUSK97]

You are shortsighted my friend. Why not euthanize them before their old age becomes a health concern?

No sir. Still not good enough. Euthanize anyone who is sick enough to require medical care. That'll reduce healthcare costs in no time flat.

 

[RUJMM78]

Unions. Every time you want to see where money is being wasted, there is union labor on the receiving end.

Without unions people working in manufacturing plants and elsewhere would have a hard time supporting a family.Income inequality will be a big issue in this years election.

 

[imoapie]

Lots of people saying merge things at the local level and you're saying eliminate the county level. Are you just referring to freeholders and the like? All the county services? What specifically are you looking to eliminate at that level?

Lets start with county police.

 

[Knight Shift]

Without unions people working in manufacturing plants and elsewhere would have a hard time supporting a family.Income inequality will be a big issue in this years election.

 

[Knight Shift]

This just in from Raymond Lesniak:

pending by school boards, even if unauthorized by the NJ Department of Education, often winds up on the local property tax rolls.

Take the Elizabeth Board of Education for example. It had truant officers for pre-school four year olds where attendance is not mandatory. When the NJ Department of Education refused to authorize the positions and pay the state aid portion of it, the Elizabeth BOE funded it exclusively from local property taxpayers. The school board also bought political ads on cable tv against Elizabeth's Mayor Bollwage. The state refused to pay state aid for this unauthorized expenditure, but again local property tax payers foot the bill.

Abuses like this, and there are many across the state, would not be permitted if my proposal for a State Comptroller of Education were adopted. Unauthorized positions would not be allowed to be funded by local property taxpayers nor would any expenditures not relevant to education.
Check out my website at www.raymondlesniak.com/waste for other examples of tax dollars that can be saved.