re: #156 mmmirele

Texas housing prices may not be insane YET, but the PROPERTY TAXES can be more than the payment on the note on the house. My sister’s house (just under 2500 square feet) on the eastern edge of Harris County about a mile north of I-10 has a value of just slightly less than $350K. Their tax bill for 2020 was almost $6700. My mother’s house on the east side of the East Valley of Phoenix, (1900 square feet) is just under $250K. The tax on that was $1600. Yeah, we have an income tax here, but I can guarantee you my mother is not paying over $5,000 in income tax.

And, frankly, I’m glad we have a state income tax as opposed to a very high property tax because Texas’ property tax system is completely fuxxored. School funding is based of the property tax and some districts (poorer, minority) get the shaft as a result. It’s been a problem since forever in Texas and there is no political will to fix it because it’s defacto segregation at work.

In suburban Chicago, my tax rates are definitely higher than your sister’s! And we also have income tax + sales tax. So we’re paying substantially more taxes than our brother in Texas.