Or, are they?
One thing I find quite irritating, are those who claim taxes in Buffalo are too high, and that's why people are moving out.
When I try to nail down which set of taxes are too high, property taxes generally come up first. Property taxes in the City of Buffalo are quite reasonable, actually. Average property tax bill in Buffalo is about $1500 a year. I think people might be confusing Buffalo with Kenmore, whose average tax bill is about $4 or $5K per year.
Or, people try to get more generic, and move up to the state. Income taxes! Well, income taxes in NYS are rather reasonable too. Albeit, it's not Texas (Where they have no income tax), but I can attest, Texas sucks if you need anything more than a license. No real service stations on the interstates (That I saw), just parking spaces, where you've gotta move before 30 minutes is up.
Then, it comes to sales taxes. Well, I've got to admit, sales taxes are pretty high. But, we have a huge state, and with minimal income taxes, you've got to fund it somehow.
But I digress. I do think it's silly for people to say the taxes in Buffalo itself are too high. The taxes in the city are meager at best. I think people are venting their anger at their suburban tax bill, and somehow equating that to Buffalo.
My suggestion for people doing this? Why not ask your town board why your taxes are 4 times that of the City's.
Thanks for the great post! I live in Buffalo, and compared to where I lived in Jersey, my property taxes are less than half for about the same size property. So complain all you want, and remember that you are getting more irs and tax help than some of the other people in the country!
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