Like most taxes it’s possible to do a progressive property tax, where the more your properties are collectively worth the higher rate of tax you pay.
Done right this will leave owner/occupiers in the same state they are in now, mildly reduce the profitability of small time landlords and make large scale landlords financial nonsense viable forcing them to sell.
The actual risk is that because it lowers house prices by artificially reducing the demand it won’t encourage housebuilding which is the only real solution when more people want or need to live in a place than there is housing.
That said, I am optimistic this increases supply enough by forcing sales of under occupied properties to offset the reduction in built supply.
I’m considered middle class despite being something like in the top 10% of earners in the US and I don’t own any property. I don’t know if I could afford to own property with their current prices. I’m not certain property taxes hit the middle class as much as they might have back when my parents were in their prime. Of course it still hits a percentage of the middle class, but I’m suggesting that percentage is shrinking and smaller than the revenue it would generate from the rich.
Do you suppose a wealth tax wouldn’t also be passed on to renters? Should we just not tax the rich at all since they’ll just pass the cost on to their tenants?
No, this is just what the landlords say, like how they say raising wages would impact jobs. It’s just not true. Landlords already charge the maximum people are willing and able to pay, they can’t really pass those costs on. Just like how in fact companies hire based on how many employees they need to fulfil their contracts, and it’s only affected marginally by the wages.
When a cost goes up for all owners at once, this leads to everyone at once raising rent prices. There is no opportunity for a renter to jump ship to a cheaper property, they all went up. The maximum changed.
Yes, this will price out many people from being able to afford housing.
That would leave properties empty with high taxes, pretty bad financial decision for a landlord. Leaving properties empty to land bank works if they don’t have to pay anything but it would be ruinous in this scenario. They will lower prices.
Property tax is based on property values. Rich people have more valuable properties. Of the taxes we actually have, it’s one of the most progressive as it actually hits wealthy people more.
Why not both?
You use the carrot or the stick. Using both at the same time makes no sense.
Because a property tax hike only hurts the middle class
Like most taxes it’s possible to do a progressive property tax, where the more your properties are collectively worth the higher rate of tax you pay.
Done right this will leave owner/occupiers in the same state they are in now, mildly reduce the profitability of small time landlords and make large scale landlords financial nonsense viable forcing them to sell.
The actual risk is that because it lowers house prices by artificially reducing the demand it won’t encourage housebuilding which is the only real solution when more people want or need to live in a place than there is housing.
That said, I am optimistic this increases supply enough by forcing sales of under occupied properties to offset the reduction in built supply.
I’m pretty sure property taxes aren’t progressive and I’m baffled as to why.
Make it so like the first 100k is taxed low, and then ramp up so people with millions of property pay through the nose.
I’m considered middle class despite being something like in the top 10% of earners in the US and I don’t own any property. I don’t know if I could afford to own property with their current prices. I’m not certain property taxes hit the middle class as much as they might have back when my parents were in their prime. Of course it still hits a percentage of the middle class, but I’m suggesting that percentage is shrinking and smaller than the revenue it would generate from the rich.
Are there middle class property owners in New York city?
I feel like middle class would all be renters there and upper class wealthy the only actual owners.
Property taxes get passed down to renters. Just like every other cost related to owning and maintaining a rental.
Do you suppose a wealth tax wouldn’t also be passed on to renters? Should we just not tax the rich at all since they’ll just pass the cost on to their tenants?
^ this. This is the NYC situation
You have fallen for propaganda, this simply isn’t true.
Please enlighten me how a property tax increase doesn’t hurt the middle and lower class disproportionately. I’d love to hear this.
Someone replied fifty minutes ago with an answer. You have no interest in learning why you’re wrong.
For everyone else, in NYC the middle class disproportionately rents. It is the wealthy who own.
Just like every other cost related to owning and maintaining a rental: property taxes get passed down to renters.
This tax disproportionately affects middle and lower class individuals.
If the landlords could charge more, they’d already be doing it.
No, this is just what the landlords say, like how they say raising wages would impact jobs. It’s just not true. Landlords already charge the maximum people are willing and able to pay, they can’t really pass those costs on. Just like how in fact companies hire based on how many employees they need to fulfil their contracts, and it’s only affected marginally by the wages.
When a cost goes up for all owners at once, this leads to everyone at once raising rent prices. There is no opportunity for a renter to jump ship to a cheaper property, they all went up. The maximum changed.
Yes, this will price out many people from being able to afford housing.
That would leave properties empty with high taxes, pretty bad financial decision for a landlord. Leaving properties empty to land bank works if they don’t have to pay anything but it would be ruinous in this scenario. They will lower prices.
Property tax is based on property values. Rich people have more valuable properties. Of the taxes we actually have, it’s one of the most progressive as it actually hits wealthy people more.