Text 13528, 60 rader
Skriven 2011-01-09 17:33:26 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
  Kommentar till text 13519 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
Ärende: Taxes
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Roy Witt wrote to Bob Ackley on Saturday January 08 2011 at 01:20:

Just wanted to thank Bob and you for all the comments on taxes in the States.
In some cases, my information is apparently out of date.

You still pay much less tax on gas than here, but I was surprised to hear of
the yearly "registration fee" for a car. They have that in Germany too, but not
just since recently, and it's now based on the CO2 emissions. Used to be based
on straight motor displacement.

Your sales taxes are much lower than here, but there is only one here - from
the federal government. No extra sales or income taxes by state or
municipality.

BA>> the feds hit you with excise taxes on some things, and the counties
BA>> hit you for a grand or two a year in property tax on your house.

RW> Just part of owning or renting a house to live in.

True, but in the States and Canada (at least where I've lived), there is also a
"school tax" added to the property tax, and that has often been higher than the
property tax. There is no such tax here in Germany. Educational expenses are
paid by the state governments, who get a percentage of the federal sales tax
(actually "value added tax", although you wonder where the added value is in
many cases) for this purpose.

The federal government _must_ keep out of education (as specified by the
Grundgesetz = constitution) because the Nazis misused the national educational
system of the time for indoctrination, and people are very hesitant to allow
such a possibility again.

RW> You never really own any home outright, because you're always
RW> obligated to pay the county property tax on it.

I sometimes refer to home ownership as a "lifetime rental". You pay taxes,
upkeep, energy, but in the end, all you're doing is buying a roof over your
head for life (or as long as you keep paying).

BA>> Some states - Nebraska and Iowa among them - also assess an annual
BA>> 'personal property tax' on everything you own...

This used to be the case in Germany too - with generous exemptions - but was
declared unconstitutional some 12-15 years ago and repealed. There's meanwhile
(last 3-4 years) an income tax surcharge for large incomes - I believe over EUR
500,000 annually - but it only amounts to around 2% of the tax and doesn't
affect most of the population.

RB>>> Is your pension around $900 a month? Mine is.

RW> About twice that, less $100/mo for medicare. Supplemental health
RW> insurance that pays the 20% that medicare doesn't, costs about
RW> $130/month.

Doesn't sound bad. Is the supplemental health insurance worth the price, in
your opinion? And can you opt in at any time, without a health check?

Cheers, Bob

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