I should have mentioned when I wrote recently about the
$.23/acre real estate tax that it is just surface rights we own. The
mineral rights were separated and sold long ago. The mineral owner
(I think it is CONSOL in our case) is also paying taxes on "our"
parcels and although I don't have the numbers I am sure it is more
than we pay. Rights to the gas alone are now selling for five times
the surface rights on timber land.
Someone mentioned that states with low real estate taxes
typically make it up by higher taxes in other areas. We do have a WV
income tax. My wife (who does the taxes) tells me for most people it
is about 4 - 6 % of their adjusted income. What with the various
deductions for being over 65 etc., we haven't paid anything for the
last several years - this year we will pay big because we sold a
pipeline ROW through part of our farm. WV also has a sales tax - 6%
on everything except food which is 3%. WV taxes road vehicles as
personal property. Here are the five vehicles we have and WV's
valuations of them:
1983 Mercedes 300SD $120
1987 Ford F700 dump $120
1992 Porsche 968 $4725
2008 Chev P/U $8085
2009 Mazda CX-7 $9225
They taxed us a total of $497 for those last year. We have
farm equipment worth more on which they don't collect taxes at
all. So I guess the bottom line is that if you are old and low
income this is a cheap place to live even if you have real estate.
About the winters here. In WV it depends a lot on
elevation. Folks at 3000+ above sea level get much more snow and
cold than we do. Our house is at 1400, the hill tops about 1500 and
the valley streams about 900. We get snow, but not for long enough
for people to have skies or snowmobiles. I plowed the lane to the
house with the tractor FEL once so far this year but it really wasn't
needed. Mostly cold rain. It seems a mild winter to me but then
again I grew up in northern Illinois. My wife grew up in Sydney, Aus
so it seems a bit colder than necessary to her.
Dave Gilmore, Cameron WV
Fish was the centerpiece of Roman cuisine.
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