Stelly discussion - moved from football forum

[EJ]

I did a little research at LA Dept of Revenue at www.rev.state.la.us

A person making $50,000 per year with 1 exemption (himself) and 0 dependents would pay $1,890 per year in state income tax.

Accordingly, two people making $50,000 per year each would pay a total state income tax of about $3,780. Let's make it $4,000 to be fair.

NOW...

I am going to *try* to compare apples to apples.

Let's take two couples. Each couple earns $100,000 per year and each couple lives in a $150,000 home. One couple lives in Ruston, LA and one couple lives in a suburb of Houston, TX.


Ruston, LA couple:

- State Income Tax = $4,000
- Property Taxes (less homestead exemption) @ 1% (this is estimated) = ($150,000 - $75,000) X 0.01 = $750

Total Ruston, LA state income and property taxes = $4,750 (not deductable from federal)


Houston, TX couple:

- State Income Tax = 0
- Property Tax @ ~3.5% = $150,000 X 0.035 = $5,250

Total Houston, TX state income and property taxes = $5,250 ( deductable from federal)



That's pretty close.

So, Houston has lower housing costs, better roads, better schools, better economy, etc. for about the same amount of taxes. What was the reason for new college grads or young families to stay in Louisiana???

Instead of the LA state government working on economic development to increase the tax base, they are trying to "kill the golden goose" by taxing the working class even more.

And, although I despise property taxes as well as income taxes, property tax usually stays local while income tax disappears to Baton Rouge, never to be seen again...

[Dwayne From Minden]

We do still have homestead exemption at the very least, but I'm sure they'll be going after that next.

Markay - if they would throw out the Homestead exemption NOW, it would lower your tax burden in the long run -

And it would do more for the schools and parishes (health units) in the this state than anything else in the past 50 years -

If you are in the tax bracket I think you are - and you are a friend of business - especially small mom and pops and privately held corporations than you would want to see this repealled -

We will NEVER have decent PUBLIC schools in the state as long as the Homestead Exemption is in place...

On another note, I'm laughing my ass off at the out cry from the Stelly Plan - yeah it costs me more money, but an extra $100 per month doesn't hurt me like it hurts the welder, the mechanic, the lineman, the schoolteacher, etc -

An as Monty said - wait until they get the sales tax collections aligned how they want it - especially on internet sales - it is going to make peoples heads spin...

[Dwayne From Minden]

- State Income Tax = $4,000
- Property Taxes (less homestead exemption) @ 1% (this is estimated) = ($150,000 - $75,000) X 0.01 = $750

Total Ruston, LA state income and property taxes = $4,750 (not deductable from federal)


Houston, TX couple:

- State Income Tax = 0
- Property Tax @ ~3.5% = $150,000 X 0.035 = $5,250

Total Houston, TX state income and property taxes = $5,250 ( deductable from federal)
[/i]

EJ - this is erronous information -

The $4,750 is just as deductible on the LA couples federal return as it is on the TX's couples federal return -

The IRS treats both taxes the same -

What people don't realize is that in all states only LOCAL taxes are dedicated -

And thats the key to having quality ROADS, SCHOOLS and other QUALITY of life infrastructue at the local level -

There is no HS exemption in TX, so the vast majority of the $$$ the TX couple pays stays at the LOCAL level and is dedicated by law to certain things -

As far as the LA couple - only the $750 stays LOCAL to fund the roads and schools - everything else goes to the big pot in BR and 85% of it is DOLED out south of I-10...

The average $$$ saving of the HS exemption to the LA taxpayer is less than $400 annually -