4 ms·

If someone buys my neighbor’s house for 2X what I paid for mine, why should I pay more in taxes ?

leetcrew 4y ago
because property tax is based on the value of the property, and your property is worth more too? a different way of phrasing the question: is it fair that your new neighbor pays twice as much as you to support city services, just because they bought their place more recently?
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- foogazi 4y ago
  > is it fair that your new neighbor pays twice as much as you to support city services, just because they bought their place more recently? My neighbor paying 2x what I paid has no effect on the cost of city services
refurb 4y ago
Because your house is now more valuable and as a general rule progressive taxes are best where those with more money pay more tax.
- foogazi 4y ago
  My house going up or down in value doesn’t make me richer or poorer I could see the point of your argument if I sell and make a profit - but before I do that my QOL within my house is not affected
  - refurb 4y ago
    Of course it means you’re richer. Wealth = assets minus liabilities
- tzs 4y ago
  Your house becoming more valuable doesn’t mean you have more money.
  - epistasis 4y ago
    That's like saying "just because people buying TSLA shares at 2x what I paid for them doesn't mean I have more money." Of course not, stock shares or real estate are not money. But they are wealth.
    - tzs 4y ago
      But note that when your wealth goes up because others have driven up the price of TSLA shares you are not taxed on that wealth gain. You are only taxed on the money you get when you sell the shares. If the price of TSLA shares goes to 2x and then later back to 1x before you sell the shares, and then you sell them, you have no gain and no tax. It is generally considered to not be a good idea in tax theory to tax things that don't involve either money or things that are very easily converted to money, unless perhaps the tax is relatively small. For purposes of this discussion "money" means whatever the government will accept as a tax payment. That's partly because you ideally want taxes that are meant just to raise revenue (as opposed to for example so-called "sin" taxes) to not cause much change in the activity or thing being taxed.
      - rcpt 4y ago
        Unlike land within our borders, TSLA isn't finite in supply and something we need to directly compete with each other for.

because property tax is based on the value of the property, and your property is worth more too? a different way of phrasing the question: is it fair that your new neighbor pays twice as much as you to support city services, just because they bought their place more recently?

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foogazi 4y ago
> is it fair that your new neighbor pays twice as much as you to support city services, just because they bought their place more recently? My neighbor paying 2x what I paid has no effect on the cost of city services

refurb 4y ago

Because your house is now more valuable and as a general rule progressive taxes are best where those with more money pay more tax.

foogazi 4y ago
My house going up or down in value doesn’t make me richer or poorer I could see the point of your argument if I sell and make a profit - but before I do that my QOL within my house is not affected
- refurb 4y ago
  Of course it means you’re richer. Wealth = assets minus liabilities
tzs 4y ago
Your house becoming more valuable doesn’t mean you have more money.
- epistasis 4y ago
  That's like saying "just because people buying TSLA shares at 2x what I paid for them doesn't mean I have more money." Of course not, stock shares or real estate are not money. But they are wealth.
  - tzs 4y ago
    But note that when your wealth goes up because others have driven up the price of TSLA shares you are not taxed on that wealth gain. You are only taxed on the money you get when you sell the shares. If the price of TSLA shares goes to 2x and then later back to 1x before you sell the shares, and then you sell them, you have no gain and no tax. It is generally considered to not be a good idea in tax theory to tax things that don't involve either money or things that are very easily converted to money, unless perhaps the tax is relatively small. For purposes of this discussion "money" means whatever the government will accept as a tax payment. That's partly because you ideally want taxes that are meant just to raise revenue (as opposed to for example so-called "sin" taxes) to not cause much change in the activity or thing being taxed.
    - rcpt 4y ago
      Unlike land within our borders, TSLA isn't finite in supply and something we need to directly compete with each other for.