Local taxes rank near top
People often complain about high property taxes in Fulton and Montgomery counties. They have good reason. The percentage of taxation is, in fact, higher than in most other counties in the nation. A report posted in December by the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax research group based in Washington, D.C., shows this point. Fulton and Montgomery county property taxes were among the top 20 nationwide as a percentage of median home values from 2005-07, according to the Tax Foundation. Montgomery County ranked fourth and Fulton County ranked 17th. Montgomery County’s property- tax median was 2.86 percent of the median home value. Fulton County’s tax median was 2.47 percent. New York state taxpayers in general pay more in property taxes than other states. According to the Tax Foundation, Census Bureau data show that from 2005 to 2007, average homeowners in New York and New Jersey counties paid the most in property taxes.
» Full StoryDisclosure is necessary
Hundreds of billions of dollars of our money is being spent to “bail out” big financial institutions. You’d think that would entitle taxpayers to know at least something about who’s getting the money and how it is being spent.
Don’t raise gasoline taxes
Gasoline prices have come down in recent months. Locally, they’re below $1.80 per gallon for unleaded regular. Although prices are still higher than what we’d like to see, most of us view the drop as a way to free up money for other necessities.
» Full StoryCheers and jeers
CHEERS — To the Second Annual Polar Plunge. Although the sun was bright over Caroga Lake, the temperature was somewhere around 8 degrees on New Year’s Day.
Alert clerk has courage
Islamic terrorists have not been able to carry out a single major attack in our country since Sept. 11, 2001. That is a credit to the nation’s homeland security program.
» Full StoryExpect mixture of good, bad
Many people undoubtedly are happy to see 2008 come to an end. Financially and economically, it was a terrible year. Unemployment rose, housing prices fell, foreclosures soared, the stock market tanked, 401(k)s plummeted, people’s investments soured.
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