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Originally Posted by 10fords
Bot- what are the property taxes like in LA? I am also debt free, and own 2 houses, but the property taxes in California are rising every year despite the drop in property values. They keep adding "fees" and I don't see how I will be able to keep up if I ever retire. I was 42 when I realized my dream of owning a home outright, and thought I would never have to worry again, but 8 years later I am not so sure. I currently pay over 8K a year in property taxes, and with the democratic majority in both houses of the Ca. legislature, it looks like the sky is the limit on new "fees". Recently we got hit with a new "fire prevention fee" of $150 per habitable dwelling for properties in rural areas. This "fee" is supposedly for "fire prevention", but it goes into the states general fund! As I am a Firefighter myself, I am fully aware that my department will never see a thin dime from this "fee", nor will any of the other rural departments in Ca. From what I can see, It is only a matter of time before the state of Ca. basically says "hand over your wallet". Other than the humidity I really liked Louisiana when I was stationed there.
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We have what's called a "homestead exemption" which deducts the first $125k (IIRC) from taxation except within municipalities which vote to withdraw the exemption. In California exempting $125k or so may not seem like a big deal but our mean housing prices are less than half of California's. So homeowners don't pay much tax unless they live in a city.
Businesses pay the brunt of the property taxes, but not forestry or agriculture as those too have hefty deductions and exemptions.
Every couple of years some genius in the legislature suggests repealing the Homestead Exemption. Then a bolt of blue lightning strikes him dead on the floor. The other legislators walk away whistling loudly like they thought the suggestion was dumb.
Incidentally, the Homestead Exemption was instituted under Huey Long because the oligarchy that ran this state from New Orleans was bleeding the remains of the middle class and the huge number of poor people in order to pay for their bribes and kickbacks and brother-in-law projects. Long used the blatant abuse of the rich against the poor during the 1927 flood as a cause celebre in his run for governor. Long promised and delivered a lot of debt relief on the middle class and poor by shifting taxes onto the wealthy and onto major businesses.
Long built more public schools than any previous Louisiana governor and built schools for "colored" (African Americans) from public funds. He campaigned for black votes -- unheard of!
Long also built a lot of bridge and paved a lot of roads. Not a big deal in most states, but when you live in a state dissected by swamps, rivers, bayous and marshes .... bridges are a godsend to the poor people who cannot get their farm produce to market. Who got it to market before Huey Long? Why, the plantation owners.
"Plantation owners? Didn't they disappear with the Civil War?"
No. After the Civil War carpetbaggers moved south and seized the plantations from the previous owners. Particularly hard hit were the plantations owned by the "Creoles of Color".
The carpetbagger plantation owners were some of the biggest proponents of Jim Crow. Their descendents' depredatious behavior brought Louisiana Huey Long.
But I digress.
Louisiana taxes are burdensome to business, heavy on wealthy and light on the poor. The current governor is arguing to do-away with income tax and go to some sort of VAT. To me, a VAT is thoroughly disingenuous -- the buyer never knows the true cost of the tax. But that's a story for another time.