Hey all
With the current screeching, wailing, and gnashing of teeth in RI and other New England states, I'm thinking it's time to kick my plan to relocate to a free state into overdrive. I'm 38 and had been considering the move as retirement age came into view, but I've really had it with New England politics, taxes, and gun laws. 7% income tax, 7% sales tax, $4,000 in property taxes on a $250,000 home and then another $1,100 on a leased car, "shall issue" carry permits that require you to sue the Chief of Police to get an application form because they refuse to follow the law, AWB threats left and right, no NFA ever. And that $250,000 for a house gets you 1,850 sq ft on a 5,000 sq ft lot
I'm working up a plan with my SO to make this a 2 or 3 year thing at the very most. Some financial things to take care of and business concerns that make it hard to move at the drop of a hat, or I'd already be renting a UHaul. Really, I'd be out of here yesterday given half a chance. With that in mind, I'd like to start doing some in-depth research and have a few questions that I hope some of you would be kind enough to help with:
1) Taxes - 6.9% top rate on income, no sales tax, property taxes on real estate (including vehicles) is what I've found. Is that correct?
2) Is the income tax a "piggyback" tax that basically flows through from your Modified Adjusted Gross Income on Fed form 1040? I ask this as RI's used to be, but last year they stopped allowing any of the itemized deductions from Fed 1040 and increased the personal exemption by a tiny amount. As a homeowner that one really hurt.
3) No sales tax on anything? Really? Coming from the U.K. 13 years ago with a 17.5% VAT, and then to RI with 7% sales tax, that seems awesome!
4) I know that this one will be the proverbial "How long is a piece of string", but how onerous are the property taxes? I'm assuming they vary by area / municipality as they do here?
5) It won't just be a question of relocating my family, I will also have to relocate several businesses that rely on data center availability. I've only been able to locate a couple, and they are both close to Billings. That concerns me a bit. Is technology not a big industry in MT? Lack of data center availability and high speed net access would severely curtail my plans. PLEASE don't take any of this the wrong way, I don't mean to suggest that you all live in the dark ages and access Arfcom over AOL dialup! When your livelihood depends on that infrastructure though, you need to be certain what you're getting into.
6) It's hard to look into real estate when you have no idea what the good / bad / indifferent areas are. Any general areas to avoid due to (e.g.) punitive property taxes, crime, Arfcom mods living nearby? There will be a 9 year old coming too, so if there are any areas renowned for having good / bad school systems then that would be good to know too.
I think that's it for now, and again, thank-you to anyone who takes the time to read this and respond to any / all of my questions.