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Old 08-03-2010, 07:08 AM
 
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It's hard to compare state to state as one state might have higher property taxes but lower income taxes etc. You have to look at the overall big picture. I know someone that moved from Canton, MA to upstate NY. They got 2X the house for 1/2 the cost, pay less in income tax but significantly more in property tax/school tax.
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Old 08-03-2010, 07:22 AM
 
Location: Newton, Mass.
2,954 posts, read 12,303,804 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beachcomber4 View Post
It's hard to compare state to state as one state might have higher property taxes but lower income taxes etc. You have to look at the overall big picture. I know someone that moved from Canton, MA to upstate NY. They got 2X the house for 1/2 the cost, pay less in income tax but significantly more in property tax/school tax.
I'm at a loss for how they paid less income tax in upstate NY. NYS income tax rates hit 6.85% on every dollar earned at only $40,000 combined income for a married couple filing jointly. That's far above the MA rate of 5.3%. In NYS the rate is 5.9%, also above the MA rate of 5.3%, for a married couple making a total of $26,000. In some states it's different, but both NYS and NJ have far higher property taxes and higher state income taxes.
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Old 08-03-2010, 11:50 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
4,422 posts, read 6,258,187 times
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Originally Posted by Beachcomber4 View Post
It's hard to compare state to state as one state might have higher property taxes but lower income taxes etc. You have to look at the overall big picture. I know someone that moved from Canton, MA to upstate NY. They got 2X the house for 1/2 the cost, pay less in income tax but significantly more in property tax/school tax.
So true! I moved from Ma to San Antonio. I live in a spacious new townhome assessed at $100K. The property taxes are $3K per year. That's $27/$1,000. My sister lived in Central MA in a home assessed at $300k, and pays bout $1800.
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Old 08-03-2010, 12:21 PM
 
Location: Pacific Northwest
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Originally Posted by holden125 View Post
I'm at a loss for how they paid less income tax in upstate NY. NYS income tax rates hit 6.85% on every dollar earned at only $40,000 combined income for a married couple filing jointly. That's far above the MA rate of 5.3%. In NYS the rate is 5.9%, also above the MA rate of 5.3%, for a married couple making a total of $26,000. In some states it's different, but both NYS and NJ have far higher property taxes and higher state income taxes.
You'd think NY would have some better services with those tax rates.
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Old 08-03-2010, 07:46 PM
 
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Originally Posted by Guineas View Post
You'd think NY would have some better services with those tax rates.
Gotta make sure those public employee pensions are paid first.
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Old 08-04-2010, 11:24 AM
 
Location: Boston MA
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Default Expensive Boston

Boston is expensive and shows all the signs of getting more so. Its the schools like MIT, BU and Harvard. And the best hospitals in the world.
I went to school here in 1967 but when I had my children I couldn't afford to come back. In the mid 90s I made it back and have been a 20 year resident of Back Bay but it is hard to afford. I could cut expenses by 75% by moving to the suburbs.
Hope this helps, Jeff Persons

Last edited by CaseyB; 08-04-2010 at 11:32 AM..
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Old 08-04-2010, 03:48 PM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,969,475 times
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Originally Posted by Guineas View Post
.Maybe MA should imitate Texas and NH, and impose super high property taxes and get rid of the state income tax. That would control housing prices and ensure greater consumption and demand in other areas of the economy outside RE.
Please. Our taxes here to own even a modest property are high enough, thank you! Raising property taxes is only going to hurt the older folks on fixed incomes (remember the boomers are the biggest set of homeowners today, and we are aging on much less $ than our parents). We don't need foreclosures/abandoned property on the scale of other parts of the country.
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Old 08-04-2010, 03:51 PM
 
Location: Near a river
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Originally Posted by CaseyB View Post
The tax rate varies by city or town, but you're right that property taxes aren't as high as New York. We have a law here (Proposition 2 1/2) that limits the amount that property taxes can rise.

Proposition 2½ - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
And the towns keep trying to get the residents to pass overrides.
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Old 08-04-2010, 03:55 PM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,969,475 times
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Originally Posted by xo_kizzy_xo View Post
We're also heavily taxed, as you may already know. As much as we may complain about it, the services we get as residents is, IMO, nowhere near what anyone else has in any other state. Our taxes pay for all that.
The streetlamps are all out up and down my street and we now have to contract a private company for trash. Teacher layoffs, library closings. Let's hope fire dept and police don't go next.
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Old 08-04-2010, 04:02 PM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,969,475 times
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Originally Posted by Vikatory View Post
How do people in MA afford to live? When I look at jobs, I don't see salaries being a whole lot higher than those of where I currently live (western NY), even though jobs are more plentiful. Home prices in MA are totally outrageous. Do you have to make 7+ figures to afford to live there? I don't see how people who work in retail or restaurants can afford to live. We're thinking of relocating to MA due to a job change. We're bringing my adult daughter with us. I don't see how she could ever afford to live there on her own. More than likely she'll live with us to save money and then move back to NY to afford to live (never thought I'd say that moving 'back' to NY could save money, but it's true).

By the way, rents in MA aren't a whole lot higher than they are here. I don't get how homes can be worth so much more. How much does one pay in property taxes on a $500k home in MA? Perhaps your property taxes are lower than they are here (we pay about $7k on a $170k home).
You NY'ers pay much more property taxes than MA-folks, believe me. My $259K house (if that what it can fetch) is $2500/yr taxes, which I consider too high for a senior. Here, property size, square feet of house, and which town (of course) dictates what tax you will pay. You could live in a nice area of a lesser place like Holyoke and pay little taxes and very low electric even with a 2500 sq ft house. You could live in the same house in Amherst or Greenfield and pay at least twice if not triple the property tax, and higher utilities. You can't make general assumptions about this state. I am retired, make very little and afford to live b/c no mortgage. If you will have a mortgage, be careful of moving to this state based on a job. Better to be "globally" employed.

PS: Those talking about their MA housing experience are not distinguishing between EASTERN Mass. (the only real Mass, right?), Central Mass., Western Mass (defined as North/South corridor between Greenfield and Springfield), and the Berkshires. (Boston thinks there's nothing west of Framingham.) These three areas of the state have a huge variety of cities and towns, with upper income to middle income to lower income. Western Mass. is college-land, where the well educated grads tend to stay after graduation and vie for the available jobs. New Yorkers loving the Northampton area have driven RE prices sky high (bless ya!). Real estate around Boston is fairly untouchable. Anyone with a job offer around Boston should consider West or South of the city. The old towns close in to Boston used to be affordable tenement neighborhoods, no more.

And, to clear things up... no shortage of land in Western Mass!

Last edited by RiverBird; 08-04-2010 at 04:16 PM..
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