Instead of paying school taxes, we vacation in Europe
Friday, March 24, 2023 - 19:41
To the Editor:
It looks like Guilderland homeowners can look forward to yet another increase in their school property taxes again this year, this time about 2.76 percent [“GCSD drafts $120 million budget for next year, up 9 percent but still under tax cap,” The Altamont Enterprise, March 16, 2023]!
My wife and I, completely fed up with the constant school and property tax increases (and the reasons for them) moved out eight years ago, 900 miles due south to the Charleston, South Carolina area.
Altamont Enterprise readers will be interested to know that South Carolina does not impose school taxes on owner-occupied homes.
With this savings, we enjoy a couple of weeks in Europe every summer.
John Brower
Summerville
South Carolina
Ahh. The glorious South! With the promises of small government intrusions and regulations!
I guess the shorter life expectancies (now around 5 years shorter then up here in NY), the intrusion of religion and bigoted and anti-science agendas in public education, and a huge dependence on Federal dollars to balance budgets because of huge shortfalls due to low taxation [Note: all those southern states are welfare states, taking more then they ever paid in, whereas NY and other enlightened states pay more in order to lift up all states] all make your migration well worth it. Move south and become a burden on the entire nation, an awesome contribution to society. I imagine many of your fellow South Carolinians would love to be able to afford a life where world travel could be a reality once in a while. From my perspective up here, I suspect your lifestyle is based upon the generational shoulders of those others down there.
One side note: Fewer then 15% of voters show up to vote on school budgets. I wonder how many of you readers voted this last go around? The prior one? I hear a LOT of people complain about taxes for schools and yet only 1 out of the last 15 people I have talked to about this actually voted. So instead of complaining - or moving - take some ownership of the issue. We all are responsible for it.