Anonymous wrote:Spinning off that previous thread, do you think that people who pay a premium for their house because it's in a certain school cluster therefore have a right to better schools?

Huh? are you consusing cause and effect? school zoning, commute time and safety are the top 3 property value drivers.

Overcrowding at schools is the top driver of property tax increases.

Are you saying that property tax payors have a right to what their taxes directly pay for? Yes.

It's a property value game. They put a magnet in Blair and game the test scores and house prices rise. So I do think it is a bit unethical because not everybody moving here understands the game.

A lot of people lying on addresses for schools near Metro. Easy crackdown!

The person who thinks that the premium is for proximity to the city is wrong. Take the area in Kensington where some of it feeds to Oakland Terrace or Rock View Elementary (and eventually to Einstein). It is next to the area that feeds to Kensington Parkwood and eventually Walter Johnson. There is a street that is divided- the houses that go to WJ are 200,000 more. Obviously not a proximity issue.

I believe that no one is entitled to a better school because they paid more.

OP again. Just to clarify again, I posed the question about a "right" because the OP in that previous thread about the boundary cheater seemed to be asserting a right. She said that she was bothered by the cheater because she herself had "compromised" on housing in order to get into that cluster. In other words, she paid an extra 200K to get that school spot and someone else didn't, so she feel cheated.

In order to be cheated, you have to have bought something that someone else got for free. I would like to argue with the idea that when you buy a house you are buying a spot in a good school. You don't sign a contract with the school when you move in. Boundaries can change, class sizes can increase or decrease, curricula can change, whole schools can close and new schools can open. Buy the house you like, but please don't think that your extra housing premium means improved county services, either in education or otherwise.

By the way, I am guessing that the Bethesda/CC/Potomac posters have noticed by now that class sizes there are averaging in the mid to upper twenties, and in Silver Spring they are in the upper teens. Even though those people paid less for their houses.

It really puzzles me that we are even having this conversation with moco having one the best school systems in the country. Try living in Mississippi or Nevada. I'm sure these people would love to have their kids in some of these "lower performing" schools.

And, all county taxes go to all the schools. If you live in Bethesda, you're contributing to teacher salaries all across the county. On another but related note, certain school might benefit from having a very involved and wealthy parent body. For example, promethean boards, after school buses, and enrichment programs are often purchased with PTA funds. Are folks who are "cheating the system" contributing to these perks? Just something to think about.

To answer the original question: our system sucks. How about an educational system of full choice? Choose whatever public school you want to attend. No boundaries, schools not funded by property taxes. Some countries have this - like the Netherlands. Works great.

Sadly, we've got 100+ years of history in our property-tax-based, school district system. Property values absolutely reflect school boundaries. Compare house prices on either side of the train tracks in 20910. One side is Rosemary Hills (BCC Cluster). Other side is Woodside (Downcountry Cluster). Woodside has objectively nicer housing stock - larger homes with more charm, larger lots, slightly closer to Metro. And yet, per square foot, you will pay more for Rosemary Hills. Location is virtually the same. Difference is the cluster.

So, you've got all these people who've invested in the current school boundaries. System sucks. But does the fact that the system sucks make it OK for some people to break the rules? Undoubtedly, the rule-breakers are the savvier ones. Recent immigrants, others with lower levels of education, are unlikely to even know how to start going about gaming the system.

Anonymous wrote:Even your property tax is a tax shelter.

And back to square 1
Just admit that you were wrong, and appologize for your rude comment regarding my tax knowelage.
Let's stop this off-topic

Even your property tax is a tax shelter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I don't get your point.
1.They do pay more in propert taxes simply because their property value is higher than let say Germantown ones.
2. They (I) don't think about the right to better school. People pay more for housing (and taxes) if they think they can buy better opportunity for their kids (whatever that means - enviroment/community, more AP classes, you name it)
It's not a right to better school.
3. Due to variaty of factors better school are usually in richer neighborhoods.

Of course that depends on how skilled their tax accountant is at tax write offs.

Huh? Don't see much room for write-off there... Care to elaborate?
http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgtmpl.asp?url=/content/finance/CountyTaxes/InfoTaxes/faqtaxes.ASP#credit

Do you have an "office in your home"?

and that affect my property tax bill how?

Ask your hubby to explain tax write offs to you. The bigger the house the bigger the write off.

Huh? You should educate yourself first, and learn differense between property tax and income tax.

1. Property tax is deductible regardless of home office as long as you use itemize deduction.
2. Deductioble or not - you still pay higher property taxes.

Property tax is not the only think that pays for eduction.

I buy more lottery tickets than you so I should get a better eduction. I also get tons of speeding tickets - your welcome.

Thank you, capitan obvious!
So, no hint on how to reduce property tax?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I don't get your point.
1.They do pay more in propert taxes simply because their property value is higher than let say Germantown ones.
2. They (I) don't think about the right to better school. People pay more for housing (and taxes) if they think they can buy better opportunity for their kids (whatever that means - enviroment/community, more AP classes, you name it)
It's not a right to better school.
3. Due to variaty of factors better school are usually in richer neighborhoods.

Of course that depends on how skilled their tax accountant is at tax write offs.

Huh? Don't see much room for write-off there... Care to elaborate?
http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgtmpl.asp?url=/content/finance/CountyTaxes/InfoTaxes/faqtaxes.ASP#credit

Do you have an "office in your home"?

and that affect my property tax bill how?

Ask your hubby to explain tax write offs to you. The bigger the house the bigger the write off.

Huh? You should educate yourself first, and learn differense between property tax and income tax.

1. Property tax is deductible regardless of home office as long as you use itemize deduction.
2. Deductioble or not - you still pay higher property taxes.

Property tax is not the only think that pays for eduction.

I buy more lottery tickets than you so I should get a better eduction. I also get tons of speeding tickets - your welcome.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I don't get your point.
1.They do pay more in propert taxes simply because their property value is higher than let say Germantown ones.
2. They (I) don't think about the right to better school. People pay more for housing (and taxes) if they think they can buy better opportunity for their kids (whatever that means - enviroment/community, more AP classes, you name it)
It's not a right to better school.
3. Due to variaty of factors better school are usually in richer neighborhoods.

Of course that depends on how skilled their tax accountant is at tax write offs.

Huh? Don't see much room for write-off there... Care to elaborate?
http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgtmpl.asp?url=/content/finance/CountyTaxes/InfoTaxes/faqtaxes.ASP#credit

Do you have an "office in your home"?

and that affect my property tax bill how?

Ask your hubby to explain tax write offs to you. The bigger the house the bigger the write off.

Huh? You should educate yourself first, and learn differense between property tax and income tax.

1. Property tax is deductible regardless of home office as long as you use itemize deduction.
2. Deductioble or not - you still pay higher property taxes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I don't get your point.
1.They do pay more in propert taxes simply because their property value is higher than let say Germantown ones.
2. They (I) don't think about the right to better school. People pay more for housing (and taxes) if they think they can buy better opportunity for their kids (whatever that means - enviroment/community, more AP classes, you name it)
It's not a right to better school.
3. Due to variaty of factors better school are usually in richer neighborhoods.

Of course that depends on how skilled their tax accountant is at tax write offs.

Huh? Don't see much room for write-off there... Care to elaborate?
http://www6.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgtmpl.asp?url=/content/finance/CountyTaxes/InfoTaxes/faqtaxes.ASP#credit

Do you have an "office in your home"?

and that affect my property tax bill how?

Ask your hubby to explain tax write offs to you. The bigger the house the bigger the write off.