This fraud had been reported going on in Long Island, NY but watching the news, it pops up wherever those with larceny in their hearts walk. This is the scam. A buyer arranges to purchase a seller's home for the asking price of, let’s say, $650,000. The buyer then arranges for an appraisal that values the seller's home at $750,000, and then mortgages 100% of the artificially "selling" price. The seller gets his $650,000 and the buyer pockets the difference.

Then the borrower will either flip the property again at another artificially inflated price to an associate crook, or more likely, default on all the loans, keeping the $100,000 extra they borrowed above the true cost of the home. Multiply that figure by the many homes in an area where these bottom feeders work across the U.S. and you find a crime wave. Unfortunately, without precise investigation you’ll find the extent of the scam.

While the above described scam is illegal, similar type legal deals are allowed. Take, for instance, the situation of a "sellers concession." The price might be increased by, let say, 6%, which the seller will give back to the buyer to cover closing expenses. This is not hidden and is done with full knowledge of the bank and the seller. The sales price must still fall within the range for the comparables for the home (cherry picking over a greater standard deviation may not be scrutinized) and the concession cannot exceed 6% or the total closing costs whichever is less.

These artificially high home sales are now being used as "comparables" to assess your property's value and even can affect you is by increasing your homeowner's insurance premiums, which are calculated in part based on the value of our home.

Your insurance company may assess the value of your home based on artificially inflated home sales which may in turn artificially inflate their assessment of your home’s worth.

In many areas require a college degree to become an officer of the law. Most of the towns I come across I see the police busting working people driving to and from work for minor traffic offenses and not using their talents in other more significant areas of consumer crime apprehension.

Illegal crimes against the tax payer as well as "legal crimes against the taxpayer " in the form of government union featherbedding, steering spending contracts, appropriations misdirected as well as disproportionate health insurance benefits, 20-years and early retirement, over-time pay, pay grades not equivalent to the private retail sector aggravate the working man’s/women’s perception of justice. The mayor should be a "taxpayer advocate." Almost every mayor I find is a glad hander, a self-promoter and doesn’t give a rats behind about the taxpayer. There are rare exceptions.

One of the more interesting but ridiculous tax situations is the personal property tax on boaters brought to my attention by comment submitted by Paul Glasser on Dec in 2006. Apparently in Kentucky they tax boats and the state has the right to collect taxes as far back as 2001.

The taxes have always been owed, but they have not been assessed because it has been difficult to identify and locate boat owners. In the past, some boaters have paid the taxes voluntarily.

The situation has changed recently since the Coast Guard shares information with the state and has helped identify boat owners. Now the State is after the boat owners to cough up the new found loot!!

The taxes are supposed to be included with a tangible personal property tax return. There have already been numerous appeals and protests filed by boaters who say that the state has over-estimated the assessed value of their watercraft. And any boater knows that there is a big difference in price for what you buy and what you sell a boat for.

Besides the boaters are a positive economic and business stimulant who already provide revenue through sales, room taxes not to mention all the personal wages of boat related occupations. In economics it’s called the multiplier effect. The boat targeted tax will have a negative effect on the associated boating industries in Kentucky.

The taxes could also force boaters out of Kentucky, because the taxes are assessed based on where the boats are moored. If they are moored in Indiana, Ohio or Tennessee, they do not pay any taxes.

Any lake or river in Kentucky such as the Ohio River, Mississippi River, Cumberland River, Kentucky River, Green River, Lake Cumberland, Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley may soon see fewer big boats.

BOSTON - Gov.-elect Deval Patrick's plan to give cities and towns new taxing powers. Instead of raising property taxes, the political leadership discuss giving cities and towns the option of raising meal, hotel and other taxes. The meal tax proposed letting local governments increase the 5-percent meals tax by at least 1 percentage point.

How much tax does it take to kill a thriving restaurant industry? How much tax does it tax to kill industry expansion or make it impossible for low-income homeowners to live affordably? What does to take for political leaders to refocus the target on reducing government overhead?

Gimmick new taxes don’t fly under the radar without bad effects. High taxes reduce demand and incentive in the long run.

Another Example for the Bureaucratic Spending Addicted Hall of Shame

This town seems to aim at keeping the working man homeowner crippled with tax payments. There lacks humility in helping the common taxpayer from their cup. Extravagant spending, expensive government compensation packages and with complete disregard for those who man the oars of the slave ship is the whip of their reign.

"Are property taxes increasing? Yes. But by choice of legislative bodies that decide to spend more, like bridges to nowhere, a fancy library that removes a large tax generating property from tax rolls, fancy county government buildings, subsidies for recycling and downtown businesses, extra welfare benefits and so on.

The ICSD is especially prone to increasing expenditures on things that are nice but not necessary and beyond a rational level of affordability and sustainability. For example, ICSD average per pupil expenditure (PPE) is about 50 percent higher than national average and 20 percent higher than comparable districts in Upstate New York. Our PPE has increased from about $9,700 to $16,000 in only 10 years. The Alternative Community School has class sizes of merely 12, and the district as a whole averages 18 (with most elementary classes also having a teacher's aide), far better than the national average. That may be nice, but it is costly and a choice, not a mandate. And the superintendent just spent thousands of dollars giving about 1,200 T-shirts to employees to promote the new "Vision" she and her overlarge administrative staff have concocted." 

In the day of tax and spend and ever increasing property taxes, our sincere applause goes out to Grove City, PA who for 25 years have held the line and not increased their property tax. Grove City, PA demonstrates an example of integrity toward their taxpaying homeowners.

The city council need to be congratulated and held up as an example to be copied everywhere taxes are levied. Vance Oakes, borough manager, was pleased with the budget. Not raising property taxes in the borough for 25 years needed to be "pointed out," he said. "I feel that’s a milestone."

It’s Oakes’ first time putting together the budget for the borough after he left the borough manager’s position in Greenville earlier this year to replace Terence Farren in Grove City.

For complete article go to: http://www.sharonherald.com/local/local_story_326180346.html