economics

Tax Hearing

As you will recall, I was appealing the tax assessor’s valuation of my old house because I felt that the house had been undervalued for tax purposes. Since that would actually increase the taxes in my new house (I explain that here) I decided to appeal the valuation. The hearing was just a few days after my mother had passed away, so I will admit that I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been.

The hearing was in front of a magistrate. One thing that I felt was unfair about this is that the magistrate was an employee of the tax assessor’s office in another county. Since all of the counties in the state use the same methods and computer software, I don’t feel that the magistrate is an unbiased individual.

Still, I thought that I presented my case pretty well. I pointed out that my house was valued at $154/sf, but every house in my neighborhood sold for $195 to $210 per square foot, even using the assessor’s office’s numbers. Even at the low end, my house was undervalued by a significant margin.

That’s when the excuses started. The assessor claimed that they were permitted by law to subtract the customary costs of sale from the fair market value and then they began pointing out that the other houses that had sold had features that my house didn’t- one had a pool, one was a corner lot, two others were on the edge of the neighborhood, etc. This, according to them, made my house less valuable.

By the end of the hearing, the magistrate and the assessor were both explaining to me that I just don’t understand real estate. Keep in mind that they were all government employees whose judgement means nothing, because they don’t invest in real estate. They merely tax those who do. I was able to show, using the assessor’s own data, that the assessor’s office is consistently 15-25% lower than actual market value. That didn’t matter, I got lectured about how TOP MEN used computers to value this property, and the methods are used all over the state.

So I thought I had lost. I resigned myself to getting screwed by the tax man.

Imagine my surprise when I got the magistrate’s decision. I didn’t get a total win, and I didn’t even get as much as I hoped for, but I did get something. The magistrate recommended that my valuation be increased from $154 per square foot to $164 per square foot. Not great, but the increase will lower my property taxes on the new house by about $400 per year. In total, the deductions from Save Our Homes portability decrease my property taxes by about $3000 a year.

Do I like paying $750 a month in property taxes? No. That’s why I fight to keep my taxes as low as I can, and this hearing cost me $25 plus a few hours of my time. Property taxes and the 6 percent sales tax are the only taxes we pay here in Florida, so it’s just something that we have to live with. At least we don’t have personal property taxes or income taxes. Still, I often wonder what it is we get for that tax rate.

By Divemedic, ago

Layoffs and Minimum Wage

California’s minimum wage is increasing 25% in April, to $20 an hour. Employers are going to raise prices, but that can only be done so much before customers decide to eat at home. That point, it appears, has been reached. So now the layoffs begin. Pizza Hut just laid off 1,200 workers in California. Fatburger has implemented a hiring freeze. Both chains have eliminated paid time off.

It’s almost like those of us who understand economics have been warning of this for years.

By Divemedic, ago

Democrats and Taxes

Florida Democrats are proposing a law that would require HOAs to donate 15% of their dues money to charities in the community where they are located. The bill text is found here. (pdf warning)

This amounts to a 15% tax placed on the backs of all property owners. What this means is that all HOAs in Florida would have to increase their association dues. This will increase the costs of housing for everyone in the state. Even renters.

Democrats: they hate property owners. They hate America. The only groups that they like are sexual deviants, criminals, and illegal immigrants.

So how do you fight this, should it pass? The law doesn’t specifically say what organizations that the donations have to benefit. This is what it requires:

Donate or use at least 15 percent of the association’s total annual income to benefit the community in the county in which the community served by the association is located.

What constitutes a “benefit the community”? Perhaps using it to donate to a progun group, establishing firearms safety courses, or some other pro-liberty cause. I mean, increasing gun ownership benefits the community, at least in my opinion.

By Divemedic, ago

Because Commies Don’t Understand Economics

Joe Biden wants to give a tax credit to half a million people so they can buy houses in distressed urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods. This shows a complete lack of understanding how supply and demand works. Even worse, there are Republicans who are buying in to this idiocy.

Let me tell you how this plays out. If you want to skip to the short version, this tax credit will affect the price of homes in the same way that government tax credits and loans have affected college tuition, as well as the way that minimum wage increases and free COVID money affected the price of everything.

Throwing this money at people in the form of a tax credit to encourage home buying didn’t work when it was tried in the 90s, as evidenced by the economic crash of 2010. Throwing money at this simply increases the demand for houses, which at first drives up prices. Then, since this is a one time tax credit, the people who don’t make enough to make the payments get foreclosed on, which causes a ripple effect of other foreclosures and bankruptcies, which increases the supply side and drives down home prices.

Meanwhile, people like me who already own a few homes cash out at the inflated prices and wait for the housing bubble to burst and make a nice profit. I got caught on the bad side of that trade back in 2010 because the housing bubble bursting caused my hours and pay to be cut. This time, I will be ready for it.

By Divemedic, ago

They Are Clueless

Holy shit. Do you want an example of how the people running our nation don’t know or understand anything about economics? Take a look:

Alright, I know that Biden isn’t the one writing this, but it’s still incredible that they equate “inflation coming down” with a reduction in prices. The left is actually clueless on anything. They are fucking idiots.

Say inflation is 8%. Last year’s $100 item now costs $108.

Inflation drops to 2%. Now that item will cost about $110.

The price can’t “go back” to $100 unless inflation is negative.

That isn’t price gouging, it’s math.

This is why we are doomed. Our nation is being run by idiots.

I have been tracking the cost of breakfast at Denny’s over the past 25 years. Not just any Denny’s. The same location- located right near my old fire station. I used to get food there regularly, so it’s a great way to make a valid comparison.

At that Denny’s: 2 strips of bacon, two link sausages, two eggs, and two pancakes is the breakfast that Denny’s calls the “Original Grand Slam.” That breakfast sold for $1.99 in 1997. By 2021, that same breakfast cost $9.49, which works out to an annual inflation rate of 6.7%. 

In September of 2023 that same breakfast was $11.99, or a 26.3% increase in the past two and a half years. That’s a 10.5% annual increase.

Just two months later, and that Original Grand Slam is up to $12.99. That is an 8.34% increase in just two months. That corresponds to an annual inflation rate of more than 60 percent. If that were to continue, in a year that same breakfast will cost $19.35.

By Divemedic, ago

Thanksgiving Costs

Here is the claim being made by the left:

Now for the facts. Here is what it costs to feed ten people for Thanksgiving for the past 33 years:

Source is here.

The cost may be down from last year, but Thanksgiving is still 30% more expensive than it was for Trump’s last Thanksgiving in office.

By Divemedic, ago

Leaving the Dollar

The yields on Treasury bills hit a 16 year high, and they aren’t done. Inflation in the US is killing confidence in the dollar. China has been engaged in moving away from holding US treasuries. They have sold off many debt holdings, going from holding $1.3 trillion in US debt to just over $800 billion- a downsizing of about 40%.

All of this is making it more and more expensive for the US to pay the interest on the $33 trillion that it already owes, and will soon begin affecting the strength of the dollar. The US will have to create money out of thin air in order to cover this as well as still keep sending money overseas. Expect more inflation to come as a result.

By Divemedic, ago