Plan Would Let Seniors Work To Pay Taxes

[DeSwiss]

Plan would let seniors work to pay taxes

By JIM FITZGERALD, Associated Press Writer
Tue Dec 25, 1:38 PM ET

GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Audrey Davison lives alone, gets a $620 Social Security check each month and worries about the sharply rising taxes on her four-bedroom house. Davison, 76, raised her family there and after 43 years, she really doesn't want to leave Greenburgh. Greenburgh doesn't want her to leave, either.

The town is pushing a program that would let seniors work part-time, for $7 an hour, to help pay off some of their property taxes. "People shouldn't have to sell their house, move away to a place with less taxes, leave behind their family and friends," said Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. He envisions retired doctors mentoring schoolchildren, retired accountants helping with the town's finances, retired lawyers offering their services for a discount. But there are plenty of less-skilled jobs that need doing, he said.

"It's not like we're going to see grandma running the snowplow," he said. "There are lots of things people can do for the town and it wouldn't cost us that much to pay them." The proposal has caused a stir in Greenburgh, a town of 90,000 in Westchester County, which has the nation's third-highest homeowner property taxes. The plan would be unusual if not unique in New York, but similar programs are considered successes in Colorado, Massachusetts, South Carolina and elsewhere.

Davison, who suffers from arthritis and sciatica and needs a walker to get around on her bad days, said she pays about $12,000 a year in property taxes — perhaps $2,000 to the town — and has already taken out a reverse mortgage to pay her bills. Talking to Feiner last week at the town senior center, she said, "I would work as long as it was a job where I could sit."

"You could be a receptionist!" Feiner said. "You could greet people right here, when they come in."

"That I would love," Davison said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071225/ap_on_re_us/working_off_taxes">More

- I don't know... seems like the term "retirement" is a misnomer these days. Hey, what about raising taxes on all those rich people in NY so the old poor ones don't have to pay so much? What? Too fair?? Death and taxes, moving closer and closer to each other every day......

[truedelphi]

1. The taxes should be raised on the rich.

Plus what happens to everyone else - if those over seventy are working for $ 7 an hour, then someone who needs to make more might have to forget about the notion of a living wage.

[DeSwiss]

4. Not to mention....

...the SSA might cut off their monthly retirement payments since they're "working" again.

[Lars39]

2. WTF

There should be Tax Relief programs, not Work Granny til She Dies programs.

[DeSwiss]

5. ....

[madfloridian]

3. Yep, our great country. Doing the elderly a favor....letting them go back to work

at age 70.

How very nice.

[DeSwiss]

8. Makes me wonder what'll happen....

...when the Baby Boomers begin to retire en masse? I don't think that there'll be that much work to do for everybody....

[Bozita]

13. How very American. Remember the mother working 3 jobs? * called her a "good American"

What does that say about *'s mother, Babs?

[lapfog_1]

6. At $7.00 per hour, Granny has to put in 8 hours a day

5 days a week, for 42 week out of the year just to pay her $12000/year property tax.

I'm sure she is looking forward to the opportunity! :sarcasm:

[DeSwiss]

10. They won't let her work that much....

...without jeopardizing her Social Security. And the program the article refers to was for only the $2,000 portion in property taxes that she owes to the county. Leaving her on her on to come up with the other $10,000 to pay to the state.

She's now meeting those state tax payments by taking out a reverse mortgage. So now, when she dies the bank will get her house and there'll be little or nothing left to pass onto her heirs.

- Peachy.

[lapfog_1]

15. Or worse, suppose she outlives the reverse? - n/t

Depending on what her house is worth, how much they give her for the mortgage and so on, her "reverse" income might only last 15 years... lots of people live into their nineties now.

[Nay]

16. I don't believe you can outlive a reverse--you get the payments until

you die, and the bank is betting you'll die before they pay out the whole worth of the house. If you live longer than that, they have lost the bet. Sorta like insurance--if you die a week after you take out the policy, the ins co has to pay. But it's not losing money over the long run, because plenty of other people won't die so early. The actuaries have it all figured out.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Some states don't require the elderly to pay income tax

Perhaps their property taxes could be forgiven. :shrug:

[seaglass]

9. My mom does this. She works less than 10 hours a week and

she loves it. For her, retirement was not great - she really isolated herself and working this job has motivated her to get out of the house and be around other people. Fortunately she is healthy enough to do this but unfortunately the tax reduction is limited and she will still be lookking to sell her house in the spring.

[Historic NY]

11. My school taxes alone represent one entire pension check...

without STAR I'd be screwed. Our 2008 Christmas presents are due out any day now I already know they went up at least $200. The abilty to pay taxes should not solely be relied on the property one owns. My towns idea of Senior Housing is condos costing 300k.... :crazy: One fifth of my retirement income goes to paying taxes, I'm exempt from Fed & State Income taxes because of disability. Its crazy, if I work then I lose the disability because I can do work.

[DeSwiss]

12. Yet another example....

...how our laws are skewed to favor the rich. When will we wake up?!?!

[TreasonousBastard]

14. I gotta ask why Greenberg is hitting her with...

$12,000 in property taxes.

We could go on and on and on about why she needs a 4 bedroom house, but obviously things are a bit screwed up all around.

[flashl]

17. Same topic ...

Same topic - more comments

[Toots]

18. Where I live seniors get a exemption from their first $150 thousand

I don't understand a person 76 years old living alone in a four bedroom house. It seems a waste and not easy to maintain. Instead of making a 76 year old woman work to pay taxes they should reduce or remove the taxes in the first place..