New Yorkers can't afford to save thanks to taxes

[Pizzabrewer]

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2017/07/report_ny_taxes_leave_families_with_no_way_to_save_for_the_future.html


We've moved to CNY fairly recently and so far are able to save about 40% of our income. Taxes are high though.

[Fomerly known as something]

What are the property taxes like in CNY.  I lived in Long Island (rented) and decided to move into queens when I bought because although I picked up NYC income taxes, the income tax was more than offset by cheaper property tax.  ($4,500 for both vs. over $6,000 in property tax for a similar sized place in Nassau County).  Oh and my State + Local + property was less than 10% of income and I had a reasonably high income based on looking at my 2004 W2. 

[h82goslw]

Yup living in NY sucks for taxes.  I'm over $11K per year for property/school taxes

[mm1970]

Interesting.  I did some Syracuse googling

Income: $47,219
After taxes: $39,641
Mortgage + prop tax: $11,155 (see link to a house below, which I checked to make sure was in a "good" school district, aka not a 1 or a 2).

That leaves $28,486
Food: $8486  "low cost" for family of four
That leaves $20,000

Typical utilities + internet: $2400/year
Gas if you drive approx 15k miles a  year at 30 mpg: $1250

That leaves: $16,350

Childcare for 2 kids for 3 months each (summers): $1800

That leaves: $14,550


http://goodcalculators.com/us-salary-tax-calculator/


https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Syracuse

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/31726309_zpid/3-_beds/globalrelevanceex_sort/43.050247,-76.041849,43.024588,-76.081331_rect/14_zm/0_mmm/

[CheapScholar]

I had a possible job in Ithaca (approached by search firm).  Looked at homes on Zillow and noticed the property taxes.  Only took about a minute to realize I'd be an imbecile to move there. 

[badassprof]

I wonder if it depends on what part of NY and what industry you're in. I lived in Ithaca for awhile, and while housing was reasonable (compared to NYC where I also lived) the salaries were very low. We live in a high cost of living area (Bay Area)with high taxes (almost 16,000 for property tax), but we make close to three times  the amount we'd make elsewhere in our chosen industries. In fact, I had a job offer in Portland, Oregon two years ago, but it just didn't make financial sense to take it given the low salary and high housing costs (we have a house we hack, so that has helped us substantially here in the bay). So I guess I would say don't automatically dismiss a hcol area--it can work and you can make and save a lot.frugalwoods has a nice article on how to be a high saver in an expensive city. The key is to take the money and run when you retire.

[teen persuasion]

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2017/07/report_ny_taxes_leave_families_with_no_way_to_save_for_the_future.html


We've moved to CNY fairly recently and so far are able to save about 40% of our income. Taxes are high though.

Yeah, we're in WNY, and saving 50+%.  Our property tax is $1800, and school tax another $1800, so roughly $3600 combined.  That includes garbage/recycling pickup and other assessments (fire protection, water district, etc) like that, though.  Isn't that stuff separate in other states?

I looked at the report, the numbers don't make sense.  Our income taxes are negative due to state partial matching of CTC and EITC.  The sales tax # implies the hypothetical renter family of 4 is buying ~$25k of sales taxable stuff.  Food does incur sales tax, nor does rent.  The report also included both property tax and rent/mortgage. ??

[obstinate]

If you make up a bunch of arbitrarily high numbers for costs, then you can justify pretty much anything!

Reporter sees this listing: https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent/Manhattan-New-York-NY/house,condo,apartment_duplex,mobile,townhouse_type/2106606522_zpid/12530_rid/5-_beds/811820-_price/3000-_mp/40.911826,-73.762379,40.647694,-74.184666_rect/11_zm/

Tomorrow's headline: you have to make $300k to afford to live in NYC!

[Drifterrider]

The article makes note of how much families "would be left with...".

THAT is called savings. 

People who don't save will always find a way to justify their actions.

[EricL]

If New York's state bureaucracy is a bloated mess like California's, the taxes are out of control. That said, the included tract is such a polemic with so many deliberately bent facts and assumptions as to be useless for an objective evaluation. 

[h82goslw]

If New York's state bureaucracy is a bloated mess like California's, the taxes are out of control. 

That would be an understatement. New York's mess probably is second only to California.