Unless you are wealthy enough to be able to influence legislators through bribes, donations and lobbyists, you will be paying more taxes than you think is fair. Taxes are not meant to be fair. Since their inception, taxes were used to siphon money (or goods) from people not in power to pay for royals, government and bureaucrats.
In an ideal world, our tax revenue would be used to fund programs that we need and want to support our society. But that’s a discussion for another time. Today, I’m writing about the inevitability of paying taxes.
I’ve lived in 23 homes in 3 different states. I’ve paid the following taxes:
- Federal, State, Local and City Income Taxes
- Worker’s Privilege Tax
- Social Security Tax
- Property Tax (on real estate)
- Deed Transfer Taxes
- Gasoline Tax
- Sales Tax
- Extra “Municipality” Sales Taxes
- Automobile Purchase, Sales, Registration and Licensing taxes
I’m sure there are dozens of other taxes I’m not including on this list including hidden/indirect taxes like toll fees, entrance fees, service charges, etc.
Taxes are the cost of living in a society. In my case, that incudes the United States, North Carolina, Wake County and the City of Raleigh. I pay taxes to all of them.
There are various “schemes” promoted by the local government such as:
- Revenue Neutral property tax on real estate – Supposedly, if the assessed value of your home increases, we have a law that requires the % to drop so that homeowners total tax paid does not increase. Funny then how each year since I’ve lived here my annual property taxes have gone up (as it has for most homeowners). This “revenue neutral” law is titled as accurately as any Congressional Bill. In other words – it’s bullshit.
- Annual Property Tax on Vehicles – NC has a tax that Florid and Pennsylvania did not. Each year, you are required to have your car inspected and renew your registration. The state taxes you on the “assessed” value of your vehicle. Does that assessed value match the Kelley Blue Book Number? Does it match the actual resales value of the car? Nope. It is whatever the state decides. I’ve had a 15 year old beater car assessed for well over $10K when its resale value was less than $3K. There is no explanation of how the assess values are calculated. But I have one guess – the State determines they need $X amount of money and then they divvy that amount up against all the registered vehicles.
In fact, I think that’s how most taxes are actually determined. The taxing authority has a budget they require and they reverse engineer all of the taxes to ensure they get it.
I’m not even complaining about this.
I made a conscious decision to settle in Raleigh five years ago when I ended my road trip. I knew I’d be paying state income taxes, local sales taxes, property taxes, automobile property taxes, gasoline taxes and more. That was part of the price required to live here.
There are a few things I can do to minimize my taxes like live in a smaller home, drive a cheaper car, purchase less things. I pretty much do all of these already.
If the taxes get exorbitant I could sell my home, get rid of car or move elsewhere.
Otherwise, I don’t fret about taxes at all. I just suck it up and pay the man.
Postscript:
The local cities/counties in my area have increased property tax rates (and/or assessments) for 2024 that have resulted in annual property tax increases ranging from 12-50% for homeowners. Officials are saying the main driver is the need to give city and county workers raises including police officers, teachers, sanitation workers and administrative staff.
I won’t opine on the whether these raises are justified. Instead, my libertarian leanings lead me to say – anytime your local government does something new – increasing raises/benefits, building infrastructure, creating affordable housing, etc. somebody has to pay for it. That somebody is you and me.