[mcmama]

One of our local realtors blogged yesterday about the NJ home sales tax. You can read her opinions and link to the site to sign the petition against this here

New Jersey taxes you when you sell your home. If your home sells for over a million (don't laugh, that doesn't buy much house here) they tax your buyer one percent too. Now they want to enable local governments to tax your home sale as well. This tax hits lower priced houses with a higher percentage than luxury homes - but either way, it is a big bite to feed the government piggy - more money for local governments to dole out to party bosses friends in the form of no bid contracts, and part time "jobs".

So like the realtor says, if you are selling because you can no longer afford the taxes, they are going to tax you further on your way out.

Do the math with the calculators on the site she linked to, and see if you would like this kind of bite taken out of your closing costs.

If you are in NJ, please sign the online petition

[MissyChrissy]

At this point, I think I'd walk away from my house, file chapter 7, and move to Washington state, where there are no property taxes after the initial purchase of your home.

[mcmama]

This is the first year I am free to move without losing custody of my sons to a closeted homosexual abuser of women. Fathers rights and all that. So it adds insult to injury that I have been forced to live in a place that I could not afford, and continue to bear the financial brunt of dishonesty in government in a place where I haven't wanted to live for a very long time.

But regardless of that, this so called "fee" is now being called what it is - a tax. And increasingly in NJ, it is becoming an "exit tax". Just like on the GW bridge. You pay to get out of NJ, but not to get back in.

A lot of people are leaving because of the cost of staying. To hit them on the way out, increasing their closing costs, is really affirming the problem.

With the higher priced homes, it takes longer to sell, so the buyers "premium" is certainly no incentive. It's not big enough to make someone who can afford those houses not buy one, but it is not exactly friendly.

NJ OUGHT to really work on making our homes more affordable by lowering property taxes, regionalizing these expensive local feifdoms, and doing away with the smoke and mirrors games of "fees" that are really taxes, and "rebates" that are really interest free loans from the taxpayer to the government.

Bad mood today, people. It's snowing. Yuck. Think they will tax that?

Please sign the petition. To increase the burden on homeowners even further is ridiculous.

[MommyDee]

When I consider our (very) recent move, things like this just make me really happy to be living where I am... I can't imagine taxes on the sale of a home!!! The only thing we were taxed on was part of our closing costs, and that only because it was a taxable service provided by our lawyer. The corruption in government absolutely baffles me at times... I wish I could add my name to the petition, Janet, but I'm awfully glad I'm not living there to be able to do so!!!

[poliscmjr]

With pleasure did I sign this petition!!

[mcmama]

Thanks hon.

You know, on another thread we are talking about home prices, cost of living, benefits in other countries, and so on. Home prices are high everywhere, even with the recent slump. The fact that after living here 8 years and paying these ridiculous taxes NJ still gets to take money out of my pocket on the way out is really stupid. I don't think this happens anywhere else, at least not to this extent. And now with my town wanting even more money than it has robbed me of......grr......