Property Tax question

JBrown243

JBrown243

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Sep 6, 2012
Messages
201
Location
San Jose, CA
Display Name
Jason
Home Airfield
KRHV
So Im new to the whole owning a plane scene. I've just owned my plane a little over a year and a half now. I understand about the property tax you pay for the plane but was unaware of having to pay property tax for my tie-down spot. I thought I was "renting" the spot at the airport. Why am I getting a property tax bill C/O Reid Hillview Airport for "084 - PI ON TAX EXEMPT LAND" and what does that mean? I don't own the spot, my bill every month says I'm renting the spot. Is this standard or is this a Santa Clara County thing?

Thank You.
 
Not sure how it works at airports but in retail it would depend upon whether it was a "triple net" lease, a "gross" lease, or something inbetween.

Triple net = lessee pays taxes, insurance & maintenance.
Gross = lessor pays.

If it was me, my first step would be to read the lease agreement.
 
FYI, the subject has come up in the past re. Calkfornia. I think the plane owner found that he waw required to pay. Like most CA taxes, the answer given by the taxing authority was "just because."
 
JBrown243 said:
Is this standard or is this a Santa Clara County thing?
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Sounds like a Santa Clara thing.....in San Diego, I was never charged tax on the tie-down spot (or if they did assess for tiedowns, it was paid by the FBO that rented the tie-downs/hangars and they included it in the monthly rate).
 
Didn't know it applied to tie downs too. Sure was ****ed when I got a tax bill for my hangar that I pay rent on. Hope my Niceair tie down at Reid Hillview doesn't come with a tax bill too :yikes:
 
California is 47 BILLION in debt with BILLIONS more in unfunded liabilities.. The money grab has just started....:yes::eek:
 
From what I've read, they charge a use tax on rental spots; same on hangars. It's just ridiculous but folks keep paying and they are very strong armed about it if delinquent. Maybe someone local can give more insight.

Best,

Dave
 
Thanks for all the input. Its not a lot of money so its not a problem to pay. I just never heard of paying tax on something you rent. Stupid California!
 
I never heard of paying tax on something you rent either, but even if you're not paying the state directly, you'll pay for it without being aware. No business is going to be taxed on something and not pass the financial burden (often with a profit) on to the customer.
 
First off property tax is county, not state. Secondly I don't know of a single person who has, or is planning to move out of California because of a property tax bill on a tie down or hangar.

The logic of it is pretty simple - no, you don't own the property but you are the person who is making full time use of the property. No one else is getting any use out of it during the period of your rental or lease so you pay the county taxes on it.

The problem is that this is also being applied to county owned airports where the county owns both the land and the hangars and it would seem to me that county owned property would be exempt from county property taxes. I mean, what's the point of paying taxes to yourself?
 
Silvaire said:
First off property tax is county, not state. Secondly I don't know of a single person who has, or is planning to move out of California because of a property tax bill on a tie down or hangar.
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Their taxes are through the roof and they provide no better services than any other state.

They are losing plenty of businesses. I don't understand how Silicon Valley companies exist there when they need to pay 2x the wages of other metro areas due to the ridiculous cost of living there.
 
dans2992 said:
..I don't understand how Silicon Valley companies exist there when they need to pay 2x the wages of other metro areas due to the ridiculous cost of living there.
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I don't understand why so many people who don't live in California have such an unreasonable concern for those who do. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. If, on the other hand, you are worried about the ratio of federal taxes contributed to federal dollars spent then you ought to be concerned about Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma...places like that, not Californian - we're a net asset to the federal government.
 
Silvaire said:
I don't understand why so many people who don't live in California have such an unreasonable concern for those who do. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. If, on the other hand, you are worried about the ratio of federal taxes contributed to federal dollars spent then you ought to be concerned about Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma...places like that, not Californian - we're a net asset to the federal government.
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Because when,, not if,, but WHEN California craters, the feds will bail them out with U.S. taxpayers money.........

If you really believe that will not happen then maybe you need to drink a bit more Kool Aid...;):D
 
As someone who grew up under another "sunshine" tax (growing up in the Caribbean, overrated) I don't see the appeal for paying that level of overhead to live in California. I've been to California and I guess I just don't get it. That's a lot of money for access to the beach and weather that to be frank is not all that unique. I find the economic opportunities of the Central Southern US quite attractive when normalized for cost of living. Just like I tell my sister in NYC, I'm just a 4 hour flight away from the same cultural 'experience' and museums she purports to enjoy, if it strikes my fancy one weekend.

My life experience has been that in general, the very nature of what makes something a great place to VISIT, makes it an undesirable place to LIVE. To each their own though. I couldn't afford aircraft ownership in California and keep my household budget percentages the same. In fairness to California, I couldn't do it either in my native Puerto Rico. As such, I live in what Coasters call "the trailer park in the middle". I love it actually. It allows me the disposable income to pursue my hobbies and recreational pursuits without defaulting on my household necessities. That's closer to the American Dream to me than paying a tax for perma-nice weather.
 
dans2992 said:
They are losing plenty of businesses.
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Really? More fortune 500 businesses are headquartered in CA than any other state.

You get what you pay for.

Here in MO we have extremely low taxes but our roads and education systems suck because of it. And there's trash everywhere, most of it white. We weren't recently named America's #1 redneck state because we're progressive thinkers, that's for sure.
 
timwinters said:
You get what you pay for.
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I tend to agree with that. I write the check for property taxes on my house in CO and condo in CA. The taxes on the condo are more than twice as much but it's worth more than twice as much. Plus, it's in San Francisco within walking distance of the ocean, with many more services and things to do than in semi-rural CO.

But let the CA-bashers have their way. It's too foggy, too cold, too crowded, too expensive. Stay away! :D
 
When I had a slip in a marina on SF Bay I paid the county a "possessory interest tax", even though the county owned the marina. California gets you coming and going. Glad I don't live there anymore.
 
timwinters said:
Really? More fortune 500 businesses are headquartered in CA than any other state.
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Where are the most profitable ones?

Just a curiosity thought. Apple will be high on the list but they're a massive multi-national. I assume HP would be high also, same thing.

Having an office there and some execs who are never there (jetting around all the time if they're doing their jobs, honestly), who cares where "Corporate HQ" is.

Probably more importantly, does the HQ division/branch book all the revenue, or is it sitting in accounts outside the U.S.?

HQ location is meaningless. Where's the $?
 
Right, there's obviously no $'s here in California, it's just like the Oklahoma panhandle in 1929 :rolleyes: We're all po folk loading up our trucks and trying to get out of here.
 
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