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Comment by dlp211 | Hacker News Reader

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dlp211·

> Taxes are much better

Only for the upper-middle class and rich.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-19/wait-c...

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texas does not have state income tax, sales taxes are about average and property taxes are higher than average

Property tax rates are higher on a percentage basis, but property values can be much lower, so you can still come out ahead on the property taxes.

larsiusprime had a good analysis [0] that gets into some of the details.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28793851

Right. People don’t get this because tax policy is dominated by right-wing memes but tax load for median families is way higher in Texas. Property tax rates on the median house are higher, while the effective income tax on the median income in California is very little. Median income tax burden in California is ~$350/yr.

That seems way off… when I earned $16/hr way back in my early working days my CA state income tax was a hell of a lot more than $350/yr. $16/hr is under the median CA income afaik.

If you filed married for example your 2020 tax burden on a gross income of 32000 ($16 * 2000 hours) would have been $272.

Does the median family own their house? If not, then property taxes are not a relevant issue and if your argument is “median income tax gains are offset/overshadowed by median property tax losses” then you’re just wrong.

Yes, the home ownership rate in Texas, California, and the US as a whole is over 50%.

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