4 ms·

Doesn't that approach just defer the tax until the property was sold? If so I wonder if that can create the opposite of the problem of elderly people being for

by tzs 3y ago

Doesn't that approach just defer the tax until the property was sold? If so I wonder if that can create the opposite of the problem of elderly people being forced out by rising taxes. Namely someone who wants to move out but can't afford to because after all the deferred taxes are paid from the proceeds of a sale they won't have enough left for another place.

bombcar 3y ago
That’s easy enough to create a deferral around, and allow the lien to transfer. Again, these things are already done in other states, and it doesn’t have to be perfection, just better than it currently is.
- tzs 3y ago
  Do you mean transfer the lien to your new property? A lot of seniors move to different states which might complicate things. There's another way that is better than it currently is, without the downside of building a potentially large debt if the senior manages to live a long time after retirement before finally needing to move. That's exemptions and/or freezes. E.g., here in Washington if you are at least 61 and have a disposable income under 70% of your county median income they freeze the assessed value of your property and exempt you from part of the state-wide property tax. On a $400k assessed value home that would cut the taxes from $3400/year to $2200/year in my county. The 70% threshold is $65k. There are more exemptions at 60% ($56k) and 50% ($46k) that remove more of the state-wide tax and also some of county and city taxes. For those below the 50% threshold in my county that would reduce the tax on a $400k assessed home to $900/year. Washington does also have a tax deferral program, but that is aimed to low income in general rather than seniors. I think it is meant for cases where you have a temporary reduction of income but are expected to recover.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    Exemptions also work - and we end up with something like that in areas that don’t have them - few taxing authorities will force s tax lien sale against an elderly or disabled family - the optics are just way too bad. They’ll just record them and wait. It’s the one thing the government has that normal companies/people can’t do. Wait it out over lifetimes.

by tzs 3y ago

bombcar 3y ago

That’s easy enough to create a deferral around, and allow the lien to transfer. Again, these things are already done in other states, and it doesn’t have to be perfection, just better than it currently is.

tzs 3y ago
Do you mean transfer the lien to your new property? A lot of seniors move to different states which might complicate things. There's another way that is better than it currently is, without the downside of building a potentially large debt if the senior manages to live a long time after retirement before finally needing to move. That's exemptions and/or freezes. E.g., here in Washington if you are at least 61 and have a disposable income under 70% of your county median income they freeze the assessed value of your property and exempt you from part of the state-wide property tax. On a $400k assessed value home that would cut the taxes from $3400/year to $2200/year in my county. The 70% threshold is $65k. There are more exemptions at 60% ($56k) and 50% ($46k) that remove more of the state-wide tax and also some of county and city taxes. For those below the 50% threshold in my county that would reduce the tax on a $400k assessed home to $900/year. Washington does also have a tax deferral program, but that is aimed to low income in general rather than seniors. I think it is meant for cases where you have a temporary reduction of income but are expected to recover.
- bombcar 3y ago
  Exemptions also work - and we end up with something like that in areas that don’t have them - few taxing authorities will force s tax lien sale against an elderly or disabled family - the optics are just way too bad. They’ll just record them and wait. It’s the one thing the government has that normal companies/people can’t do. Wait it out over lifetimes.