Saturday, December 20, 2008

Just remember, they’re “products,” not “properties.”

File under "symbolic gestures."

Floyd County resident shows resentment to tax rates by paying bill in coins, by Daniel Suddeath (News and Tribune).

Alford’s payment totaled $21,333.09. He paid in a similar fashion last year, except instead of coins, he used dollar bills to account for a $9,553.46 installment on a $19,106.92 tab.

Alford said he doesn’t want to do the same next year, but he won’t hesitate if rental property taxes continue to remain high in his estimation.

“To me, it’s ridiculous,” he said. “We don’t get any deductions on rental properties.”

The property tax increases for rental properties don’t just impact the landowner, Alford said. The bill will have to eventually be passed down to tenants if Alford is to stay in business.

Alford said he’s put in over 800 hours of work into his rentals this year, and will likely only claim a profit of around $10,000. Only one of the 14 rentals has a mortgage on it, according to Alford.

He calculated that nearly 29 percent of every rental dollar he receives goes directly to property taxes.


By my calculation, these numbers suggest an average monthly rental price of $400 for Alford’s 14 rental units, assuming the houses have not been subdivided. In turn, this suggests a gross of around $67,000 each year before property taxes and expenses.

We don’t know the cost of repairs and refurbishments, but “800 hours of work” comes out to 15 hours of labor per week, spread among 14 properties. Assuming the yards are small, that’s about enough time to mow the grass. And, remember, only one of the properties has a mortgage.

Interesting. Do the numbers add up?

2 comments:

Matt Nash said...

If you ask me the guy is barking up the wrong tree. His protest is only bothering the Treasurer's office who has to take the time to count his money, and they have nothing to do with his taxes besides mailing them and collecting.

His problem is with the State and Local governments that set his rate. He should take his complaints to them.
But he got his name in the paper again and on the local news maybe the Enquirer will pick up the story again so I guess that is what he wanted.

Unknown said...

Where do you find that many Susan B. Anthony coins?