Quote:
Originally Posted by 4 for Boating
So it looks to me that waterfront LAND in most cases doubled in value ...
So given the above situation - the question is >> where is all that additional tax revenue going? To pay for spending that has increase for the town (if so for what exactly) OR did non-waterfront homeowners see a reduction in their taxes and more burden is being put on the waterfront owners? What exactly is the justification for such a large/disproportionate increase? ...
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You have answered your own question, the massive increase in lake front valuations, not only on land but also the buildings, is shifting the tax burden to those owners. This increase in valuation is based on actual sale prices of homes that is used as a yardstick for the tax valuations.
There is nothing mysterious here, this is the way the property tax system is DESIGNED to work. The "wealthy" property owners are expected to pay a bigger portion of tax than the more modest property owners.
As to towns spending more, in general, the towns have not gone on massive spending sprees. Consider that costs have gone up due to the cumulative 20% inflation over the last few years. (Gee, I wonder what caused that?
) The town's costs, including school costs, are not immune from that. Plus, every town faces occasional big bills that have to be met. Maybe a few towns could afford to trim their budgets a bit but that is not what is pushing most of this tax increase onto lake front owners.
As to the concern expressed by some others that the high taxes (and high prices) are going to repel buyers, YES, eventually they will. The TELL on that will be when houses are sitting unsold for long periods of time and unsold inventory rises. (I don't think that is happening yet.) When that happens, people who need to sell will reduce their sales price to entice buyers, in spite of the tax concern. The lowered sale prices will eventually shift the tax burden away from lake front property owners. All these "market forces" are unpredictable in scope and timing because they are subject to individual decisions about buying and selling. The only thing we know for sure is that property markets WILL fluctuate and the prices of property drive the tax apportionment.