Tag Archives: taxes

Public funds for private roads

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Residents of private roads, which have been open to public use for six or more years, may now petition selectmen to provide temporary repairs such as filling holes, oiling surfaces, resurfacing and drainage installation. Voters at the May town meeting approved the new practice of using public funds to repair private roads if 51 percent of the landowners abutting the road sign a petition for repair. Last week, selectmen approved the new petition form and decided each petition will be valid for three fiscal years. The new practice is pending approval by the state attorney general for action taken at town meeting, after which, residents may obtain petition forms from the town administrator’s office.

— Today’s Telegram & Gazette

Despite that I voted against the measure at town meeting, I think my dad and I ought to sign one of those petitions, just to see what they might do to our road… :)

Property Taxes

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Every quarter, I have to pay property taxes on the land and house I now own. If I don’t pay them, the town has the right to take the property away.

So in some sense, it feels like I don’t really own my land, and that I’m kind of just leasing it from the town. I mean, I know that it’s not really that way, but that’s what it feels like.

Property taxes are really different from other taxes in that they’re not based on one’s income or ability to pay them. They’re taxes for simply existing. If one lived long enough, one could pay more in taxes on a piece of property than one paid for the property in the first place. That seems… odd.

Quote of the day: taxes

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(This is from memory, so I’m paraphrasing, but this is pretty close.)

“You must make the following declaration: You swear under penalty of perjury that the information you’ve provided here is correct. To make this declaration, press 1.” — The Massachusetts Telefile system

I have to wonder just how legally enforceable that is.

Also, for federal taxes, I’d like to recommend TaxAct, because they’re free (without the income limits the other online providers have for free services). They just really, really, really try to upsell you to their “deluxe” and state tax products. I had a pretty good experience with them. And, I just can’t bring myself to pay any money, to anybody, just to get back what’s already mine, and been mine all along.

Tip of the day: Adjust your withholding periodically

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So, I just sat down with Microsoft Money, and it says that the government is going to give us a really big refund come the end of the year. Apparently, while becoming a homeowner is expensive, the government tries to make things easier for you by not taxing you on money spent on property taxes or mortgage interest. So, I just filled out another W-4 and intend to give it to our Personnel department tomorrow.

So, this is just a reminder to fill out a new withholding worksheet when your life circumstances change. You just may end up with a bigger paycheck.

Interest and Taxes

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So, now that I’m kinda grown up and got a mortgage and such, I’ve been spending time putting together a budget to make sure everything works out, especially now that I have some concrete numbers for the mortgage. When doing the budget in Microsoft Money, it helpfully gives a pie graph of where our expenses are going. I noticed that a very large chunk of it was going toward our mortgage interest. It was about 20% of our monthly expenses. (Especially near the beginning of the loan, the vast majority of the payment is just paying off interest.)

And then, I noticed that over 28% of our expenses were taxes. Wow.

A mortgage just feels so big, it really puts the taxes in perspective.

The 2005 Massachusetts Sales Tax Holiday Weekend

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Those of you in the area know that last weekend was The 2005 Massachusetts Sales Tax Holiday Weekend. The theory is that this gives a boost to retailers, since it’s a sale at every single store, getting people to go out and buy things during a normally slow time. The long-term benefits to retailers, plus the short-term benefits in meal and gas taxes which are still collected, make up for the lost tax revenue.

That’s the theory. Here’s the practice, at least as applied to my life…