Re: Taxes Re: Politically Correct Description of the Third World

[Julia Thompson]

On Sun, 28 Jan 2001, Erik Reuter wrote:

> On Sun, Jan 28, 2001 at 09:52:38AM -0600, Julia Thompson wrote:
> > I wonder if the *property* taxes they pay on their home was entered into
> > it.  Depending on how high those are, that might bring up the number to
> > the quoted 46%.
> 
> Depending on how they calculated, I suppose that could be. But to be
> fair, they should really take into account the big tax break they get
> for the property, assuming they got a loan to buy it. Which likely
> offsets most or all of the property taxes.

I'm not sure.  If they bought a house long enough ago, the interest paid
on it isn't going to amount to anywhere *near* what it does when the
mortgage is new.  (On the other hand, you're paying down principal faster
then, and that's at least a nice feeling.)  It would depend on when they
bought, and how long their mortgage runs.  Now, it would be reasonable to
assume that the first 10 years of a 30-year mortgage would have the sort
of offset you describe, but I'm not positive for after that.

The other thing is, do they have sales tax, and how much of their income
is going into that when they buy things?

        Julia