3.8% property transfer tax to pay for health care and the guvernut??

[markabilly]

I just heard on the radio, something that must be an urban legend, that is your fadarall guvernut, will be taxing every real estate transfer a mere 3.8% to pay for the Pelosis-Obama health care dumbuttocks package?

And if you do not buy health insurance you will go to jail. I heard about that, but thought the jail thing was stricken. Guess NOT

No way says I

BTW, I just love them demo-liberals, who will save us all from ourselves.....even by putting you in jail, so you can all be free of conservative tyranny.

[GridGirl]

I take it you guys currently dont have anything like our Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) then? We pay a percentage of the total selling price depending on the depending on which banding the house price falls into.

Purchase price / Rate of SDLT /Rate of SDLT - first-time buyers
£0 - £125,000 0% 0%
£125,001 - £250,000 1% 0%
£250,001 - £500,000 3% 3%
£500,001 - £1 million 4% 4%
£1 million or more 5% 5%

[markabilly]

no. what we have is that many states, cities, school and hospital districts place annual property taxes that range from 1.5% to 3%.

Some places have no such taxes, california has 1%, and others have higher percentage taxes


Funny, when as we have lived here a long time, and our properrty has gone up in value, to the point where our annual tax bill is higher than the annual total of our mortgage payments.

Always, I thought, well pay off the loan and it would be like living here for free. Not anymore. It is like pay off the loan and reduce the total payments for house insurance, property taxes and loan, by about 35%

[Jag_Warrior]

A quick fact check (using the old Google machine) is always your friend.

National Association of Realtors Myth Busters

2011 marks my 25th year in real estate (yay, me!). And in the hundreds of transactions I've been involved in over the years, there has always been some form of transfer tax or fee. There are property taxes and there are transfer fees - one has nothing to do with the other. The annual tax is usually based on fair market value. The transfer fee/tax is based on sales price, whether that represents the fair market value or not. Each state or locality has its own formula for determining these fees and taxes. What is being talked about in the OP is the Medicare surcharge/tax on Adjusted Gross Income in excess of $250K/year ($200K per individual). It will not affect EVERY real estate transaction, and it wouldn't even affect those couples who make above $250K, if the capital gains exclusion of $500K ($250K per individual) applies when they sell their primary residence.

Now, those are facts. Here is another fact: if you don't live in a homestead state and you suffer an illness that generates a large hospital bill that you cannot pay (whether you have insurance or not), the hospital will sell that debt to a collection agency. Sometimes "nice men" like me will buy that debt from collection agencies for pennies on the dollar. After that, I will place a lien on your house and begin collection procedures. Through the courts I will begin a garnishment procedure against your wages. If allowed, I will seize other assets that you might own. If possible, I will ask the court to force a sale of the property. At which point I will take steps to evict you. If you won't leave on your own, I'll have the sheriff drag you and your family out. Those are also facts. That is the reality of what we have right here and right now.

For those of us who are wise enough to know that we MUST have health insurance, I believe that there should be affordable options. I now have what would be considered a pre-existing condition. So without these (or some other) health care reforms, unless I was working for an employer with open enrollment, it's doubtful that I could even find a policy, and if I did, it would probably be north of $2K a month. So, I'll sign up and I'll pay my taxes, fees and premiums. But for those who like to run around singing about their freedoms and who want to roll the dice, I believe they should have the freedom to do whatever they want. Don't want insurance? Sounds great to me - don't get it. But because Ronald Reagan signed an Emergency Room Act in the 80's, any hospital with an emergency room on campus CANNOT (by Reagan's federal law) turn anyone away FOR ANY REASON. If you're an illegal alien who broke his ankle after murdering a nun, raping a Girl Scout and robbing a liquor store, they still have to treat you... and they cannot release you until you are stable. So for my idea to work, we'd have to get rid of Reagan's "totalitarian, socialist, fascist, communist" law (where are my Tea Party pals to help with this repeal effort?). So hospitals and emergency rooms would only have to treat those with insurance... or a pocket full of cash. The freedom loving folks with no insurance? Well, the hospital could treat them if they wanted to. And when they couldn't pay, someone like me will just buy the debt, take their house and their wages and kick them out on the street. Sound like a plan? Works for me.

[Rollo]

And if you do not buy health insurance you will go to jail. I heard about that, but thought the jail thing was stricken. Guess NOT

No way says I

You should be in favour of this to stop free-loaders from sponging off of the health system. Why should you pay increased premiums because some people don't have health insurance? Surely you'd want something punitive to force them to get it.

[Mark]

Is it to be a standard rate or based on income and not dependent on pre-existing conditions? Kind of like 'National Insurance'?

[Jag_Warrior]

Is it to be a standard rate or based on income and not dependent on pre-existing conditions? Kind of like 'National Insurance'?

Do you mean the tax or the insurance? The tax is based solely on AGI (adjusted gross income)... it actually has nothing to do with real estate transactions specifically, as claimed in the OP (and there is no jail time for those without insurance :rolleyes . Apart from taxes, the insurance, I assume, will be like the current Medicare structure (probably more like your National Insurance). Right now in the U.S., anyone on Medicare pays $96.40 in monthly premiums (I believe that is the correct rate), and it is not influenced by pre-existing conditions. Much like the employer sponsored plans we have here, it is/will be open enrollment. But as I found out last year, in SOME employer sponsored plans, open enrollment sometimes has fine print that is full of weasel clauses, and you may need to have a lawyer at least as good as your doctor.

BTW, my mother has Medicare, which provides 80% coverage in most cases. For that she pays the $96.40 monthly premium. But to cover the other 20%, she has a private rider policy, which I believe she pays roughly $300 per month for. So for about $400/month, she has 100% coverage, once she's satisfied the $200-$300 yearly deductible of the private policy. How does the cost of this coverage compare to what is paid by those of you in Europe, the UK or other places?

[Rollo]

BTW, my mother has Medicare, which provides 80% coverage in most cases. For that she pays the $96.40 monthly premium. But to cover the other 20%, she has a private rider policy, which I believe she pays roughly $300 per month for. So for about $400/month, she has 100% coverage, once she's satisfied the $200-$300 yearly deductible of the private policy. How does the cost of this coverage compare to what is paid by those of you in Europe, the UK or other places?

I do not have private medical insurance because I don't need to.
The Medicare Levy is a 1.5% levy imposed on your gross salary in Australia and that covers everything except the Ambulance.

For the year ended Jun 30 2010 I paid $95.01/month for total cover.

[Rollo]

And if you do not buy health insurance you will go to jail. I heard about that, but thought the jail thing was stricken. Guess NOT

Maybe you're better off in gaol:
US man stages $1 bank robbery to get state healthcare from The Guardian

[Mark]

He's trying to get Healthcare from the Guardian? I see the problem with his plans already.