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You Can't Own Land In The USA

By that reasoning...You don't own your car because you have to pay for insurance, registration, and inspection.

It's just taxes. If you don't like taxes complain about taxes. Don't make these ridiculous arguments.

I can own cars without insurance, registration, or inspection. I just can't drive it on public roads.
 
You only pay the first two to drive on public roads and the latter when attempting to get the former.

If you want to own and drive a car on private property you have to pay no such thing. Terrible analogy.



All taxes are not the same. Some possessions are never again taxed and are truly yours for life and to pass off as an heirloom. Land is not one of them.

In your irrational need to defend ALL taxation, you have missed the point ENTIRELY.

What about inheritance tax.
 
It could be argued that you're double taxed when you pay income tax in money you make and then if you go buy something you pay sales tax.

And the business receiving the money pays tax on those profits, and it pays payroll tax on some of the money it gives to its employees, and it pays sales tax on the materials it buys from other businesses, and so on.
 
But property tax doesn't pay for that. Federal, state, and local taxes pay for that service.

Does it pay for things that only require a one-time payment?
 
No one was talking about rich, poor or the indifferent. It was about owning land. I think minimum wage is the topic of another thread. This is who actually owns the land, not class warfare. Do you or does the government? You want to talk about minimum wage, move it to a thread that is talking about it.

My point was to poke fun at the notion that “you can’t own land.” Each year I get a statement that indicates where my taxes go, schools, streets, whatever. My kids and neighbors’ go to schools and we use the streets small price to pay for the advantage of owning, yes, owning property. The government, through zoning or other rules, also tells me what I can or can’t do with the property. Governments need money. Property taxes are one way to get it.

Much ado about nothing.
 
You dont always pay taxes on land you own, it depends on where you own it.
In Alaska, "...only a small portion of the land mass is subject to a property tax. ...only 24 municipalities in Alaska (either cities or boroughs) levy a property tax."[42] There is no tax on the private land in American Samoa, the Territory of Palmyra Island or Kingman Reef in the Pacific Ocean insular areas.[43]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_tax#United_States_2
 
Exactly. And even if you resell them the buyer does not pay any sales tax because you already paid sales tax when you first bought them. That is why you don't pay sales taxes at garage sales. The items are only taxed once.

That's not really true - sales tax in every state that I know of applies to new AND used goods.

We don't pay sales taxes at garage sales because they are typically exempted by law, mainly for administrative reasons. If you run an ongoing business selling used goods, such as at regular flea markets, you're subject to sales tax. Most laws in most states exempt "casual" sales, such as the occasional garage sale. It's because the compliance burden on the seller is pretty big - you have to register, get a sales tax account or number, collect it on the $1 pair of socks, etc. then file a return. So states exempt it so people aren't legally required to do something most won't do anyway - waste of resources all around for relatively small tax collections.

Same thing with Ebay etc. If you sell the occasional used item on Ebay, you don't have to worry about sales tax. If your BUSINESS is buying and selling NEW OR USED stuff on Ebay, you are required to charge and collect sales tax, same as any other retailer.
 
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You cannot just give possessions you have paid for and paid the taxes on to family members without them paying taxes again on them.

First of all, the first $5.5 million per person/$11 million per couple, is exempt from inheritance tax, so it won't apply to something like 99% or more of estates. Second, the tax is on the estate, not the beneficiaries. If you get a check from grandma's estate, or the house, or the farm, or that nice shotgun granddaddy had, you don't EVER have to worry about paying tax on it.

Even better, say you get the farm. The basis in your hands is the FMV on the day grandma died, so you can sell it the next day and pay no income tax on the sale, even if grandma bought it 87 years ago for $300 and it's worth $12 million today. That gain is forever poofed, disappeared, vanished for income tax purposes. One of the reasons we have estate taxes that opponents forget to mention....
 
My kids and neighbors’ go to schools and we use the streets small price to pay for the advantage of owning, yes, owning property.
You got a point there with the streets but as for school, what if you don't and never did go to public school? What if your kids don't go to public school?

The government, through zoning or other rules, also tells me what I can or can’t do with the property. Governments need money. Property taxes are one way to get it.

Much ado about nothing.
And why does the government need so many ways to get money? Why can't the expenses that property tax pays for get paid for by other taxes? You don't need gazillion different ways to get money, you just need a few very good and effective ways.
 
Can you define the term "To Own"? That way I can understand what you mean when you say that the land that I own is not actually owned by me.

According to the man in the video, if you truly own something you don't have to keep paying for it in order to keep it. If you have to keep paying taxes to the government to keep your land and if you don't pay them than the government can seize your land than you don't truly own the land, you rent it from the government.
 
That's not really true - sales tax in every state that I know of applies to new AND used goods.

We don't pay sales taxes at garage sales because they are typically exempted by law, mainly for administrative reasons. If you run an ongoing business selling used goods, such as at regular flea markets, you're subject to sales tax. Most laws in most states exempt "casual" sales, such as the occasional garage sale. It's because the compliance burden on the seller is pretty big - you have to register, get a sales tax account or number, collect it on the $1 pair of socks, etc. then file a return. So states exempt it so people aren't legally required to do something most won't do anyway - waste of resources all around for relatively small tax collections.

Same thing with Ebay etc. If you sell the occasional used item on Ebay, you don't have to worry about sales tax. If your BUSINESS is buying and selling NEW OR USED stuff on Ebay, you are required to charge and collect sales tax, same as any other retailer.
You talk about new vs used goods. Technically every capital product you buy(products that can be used over and over again) is used, even if its sold as new. The only products that you buy which are not used are consumables (products that can only be used once.) For instance if you buy a brand new car its going to have a few miles on it. If you buy a new computer or a new set of tools they're going to be tested, ect.
Now, you might want to talk about the difference between items that are sold for the first time vs items that have been sold at least once before. That's different than items that are used vs not used.
 
According to the man in the video, if you truly own something you don't have to keep paying for it in order to keep it. If you have to keep paying taxes to the government to keep your land and if you don't pay them than the government can seize your land than you don't truly own the land, you rent it from the government.

Well, he's wrong. I own my house. You are defining the word in a silly manner and then pretending that meaning is universal. It's not. Technically, everything you currently or have ever owned of any value what so ever can be taken from you. That doesn't negate the fact that it's currently owned by you. If you don't pay income taxes they might come after you and sue you and take your car to pay for it. That doesn't mean you didn't own the car. It means you lost it because you owed someone money.
 
You talk about new vs used goods. Technically every capital product you buy(products that can be used over and over again) is used, even if its sold as new. The only products that you buy which are not used are consumables (products that can only be used once.) For instance if you buy a brand new car its going to have a few miles on it. If you buy a new computer or a new set of tools they're going to be tested, ect.
Now, you might want to talk about the difference between items that are sold for the first time vs items that have been sold at least once before. That's different than items that are used vs not used.

I'm using the common definitions, but it doesn't matter which terms you prefer. If you sell goods, of any kind - new, used, previously owned, first sale, 12th sale, are all irrelevant distinctions - the default in every state is that transaction is subject to the sales/use tax.

There are some exceptions, such as items sold to a manufacturer and that will be incorporated into a product - e.g. car parts to an assembly plant, flour and sugar sold to a bakery. Food for home consumption and pharmaceuticals are exempt in some states. Etc.

Used, previously owned, previously sold goods are NOT exempt from the sales tax.

The basic idea is BUSINESSES must charge and collect sales taxes on the sale of all goods, but that individuals who are merely and only "occasionally" getting rid of used items in a garage sale, Ebay, etc. but who are NOT running a BUSINESS of selling previously sold/used etc. goods are exempt as a matter of administrative convenience..
 
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Food and pharmaceuticals are exempt in some states. Etc.
Because food and pharmaceuticals are consumables. You use them once and they get used up. Obviously you cannot sell a product that is gone.

Used, previously owned, previously sold goods are NOT exempt from the sales tax.
Do you have a source for that claim? I will check it out myself.
 
You got a point there with the streets but as for school, what if you don't and never did go to public school? What if your kids don't go to public school?

I've lived in this house for 14 years and we haven't sent any kids to the public school and will not. I still benefit from the public schools. Just one example, good schools provide an educated, qualified workforce, attract employers, and parents who DO want good public schools for their kids. That helps my property values, the overall local economy, and therefore my own prospects in this area.

And why does the government need so many ways to get money? Why can't the expenses that property tax pays for get paid for by other taxes? You don't need gazillion different ways to get money, you just need a few very good and effective ways.

They can be, but why should they be? It's a stable, predictable source of revenue, and it's somewhat progressive, which governments like in a lot of cases. Sales taxes are notoriously cyclical and if we went to income taxes, the same people whining about the government owning their land would whine about government seizing the fruits of their labor.

Bottom line is the tax mix (property, sales, income, other) are political decisions - what do the public want? Just about every jurisdiction has decided that using the property tax as ONE revenue source is the best way to collect the revenue needed to pay for desired government services. That's the summary.
 
Because food and pharmaceuticals are consumables. You use them once and they get used up. Obviously you cannot sell a product that is gone.


Do you have a source for that claim? I will check it out myself.

Technically, every time an item is sold, if it falls into a sales taxable category, sales tax is to be paid again on the sales price, such as registering a car. You buy a used car, when you register it, you pay sales tax on the price you paid. Reasons why the clerk will question an unusual sales price (like way below book value).

You may not pay the sales tax directly to the vendor, as you do when you purchase the item new. You, as the consumer, are SUPPOSED to report the 'sales tax' as 'Use" tax and remit the appropriate amount to your state taxing authority.
 
Because food and pharmaceuticals are consumables. You use them once and they get used up. Obviously you cannot sell a product that is gone.

Right, but that's not why they're exempt. They are exempt because they're essentials, and the sales tax is REgressive, and exempting essentials like food and drugs, which make up a large share of the poor's monthly budget in some cases, is one way to make sales taxes less regressive.

Tennessee taxed all food for decades. Just recently (maybe 10 years ago) food was partially exempted. Reason given - ^^^ help the poor.

Do you have a source for that claim? I will check it out myself.

I'd have to cite each of the 50 state sales tax codes. Here's Tennessee's sales and use tax guide. I can't quote the part that says "used" goods are taxable, because they're assumed to be. What you cannot do is find an exception for any term for 'used' goods in this guide, or any other guide that I know of.

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/revenue/documents/taxguides/salesanduse.pdf

The exemption for garage sales is explained on page 18 - Occasional and isolated sales.

FWIW, I'm a tax accountant and have been for about 30 years, so I'm very confident in knowing the answer to this question. Lots of stuff I'm less confident about when it comes to sales and use taxes - not my specialty - but this I'm 100% certain of in at least almost all states.
 
First of all, the first $5.5 million per person/$11 million per couple, is exempt from inheritance tax, so it won't apply to something like 99% or more of estates. Second, the tax is on the estate, not the beneficiaries. If you get a check from grandma's estate, or the house, or the farm, or that nice shotgun granddaddy had, you don't EVER have to worry about paying tax on it.

Even better, say you get the farm. The basis in your hands is the FMV on the day grandma died, so you can sell it the next day and pay no income tax on the sale, even if grandma bought it 87 years ago for $300 and it's worth $12 million today. That gain is forever poofed, disappeared, vanished for income tax purposes. One of the reasons we have estate taxes that opponents forget to mention....

Let's start with estate tax. Your estate is the total of your possessions and debts left behind when you die. An executor, either named in the will or appointed by law, is placed in charge of the estate and must pay off outstanding debts, liquidating property to do so if necessary. Funeral expenses and administrative costs (that is, payment to the executor for dealing with all of this) are taken out next. Whatever is left over is what can be passed on, but before that happens, the federal government takes its share.

Plus I live in PA unfortunately where they do have an inheritance tax.
 
But you only pay sales tax once. You don't have to keep paying it in order to keep whatever it is you've bought, with the exception of land.

So call it a use tax instead of a property tax. Same with a car. You can own it, but you can't use it unless you pay the fees.
 
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