Taxes

[tommyg]

I was conned into buying some worthless land near ElPaso in 1970

I did not pay the Taxes in hopes that the taxing authorities would take it

I ended up paying a lot of back taxes before my CHL could be issued

A lot of people are not aware of this requirement that you

don't owe any back taxes in texas to get a CHL

[The Annoyed Man]

I was conned into buying some worthless land near ElPaso in 1970

I did not pay the Taxes in hopes that the taxing authorities would take it

I ended up paying a lot of back taxes before my CHL could be issued

A lot of people are not aware of this requirement that you

don't owe any back taxes in texas to get a CHL

I don't mean to criticize, but you're actually the first person I've ever heard say that they didn't know this. I knew it before I applied, and I'm not even from Texas. What would be really interesting would be if this thread were a poll, asking whether or not respondents knew about the back tax, alimony, child support, and delinquent student loan issues before they applied for their license.

[Oldgringo]

I was conned into buying some worthless land near ElPaso in 1970

I did not pay the Taxes in hopes that the taxing authorities would take it

I ended up paying a lot of back taxes before my CHL could be issued

A lot of people are not aware of this requirement that you

don't owe any back taxes in texas to get a CHL

I don't mean to criticize, but you're actually the first person I've ever heard say that they didn't know this. I knew it before I applied, and I'm not even from Texas. What would be really interesting would be if this thread were a poll, asking whether or not respondents knew about the back tax, alimony, child support, and delinquent student loan issues before they applied for their license.

Do it, TAM.

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

I am not from Texas either and was ignorant on the specifics of the CHL requirements but common sense told me that I had to be a law abiding citizen.

ALL laws.

I knew I was going to be investigated by the state and FBI. That told me that if anything was wrong with my record, anything at all, I would be denied.

[USA1]

I think if a person has no criminal history they may be less inclined to scour through all the requirements with the assumption there's nothing that will hold up the approval.

I, on the other hand read and reread the requirements to make sure the skeletons in my closet wouldn't come back to haunt me.

[Crossfire]

CHL instructors are not required to cover the eligibility requirements in the class, so many do not.

[The Annoyed Man]

In retrospect, I probably thoroughly researched it because I came from California where the mere thought of trying to get a carry license is a cause for significant concern.

Anyway, I didn't mean to be critical. I had just never seen anyone express surprise at any of that stuff. I apologize if I came off as obnoxious.

[philip964]

If land was worthless, wouldn't the taxes be pretty low?

[Crossfire]

In retrospect, I probably thoroughly researched it because I came from California where the mere thought of trying to get a carry license is a cause for significant concern.

Anyway, I didn't mean to be critical. I had just never seen anyone express surprise at any of that stuff. I apologize if I came off as obnoxious.

Just because OldGringo agrees with you, doesn't mean you're obnoxious. But, it's a good indicator!

[USA1]

In retrospect, I probably thoroughly researched it because I came from California where the mere thought of trying to get a carry license is a cause for significant concern.

Anyway, I didn't mean to be critical. I had just never seen anyone express surprise at any of that stuff. I apologize if I came off as obnoxious.

Just because OldGringo agrees with you, doesn't mean you're obnoxious. But, it's a good indicator!

[The Annoyed Man]

If land was worthless, wouldn't the taxes be pretty low?

I can't claim too much familiarity with Texas property tax law, but I remember in California that your assessment was based on what you paid for the property, not necessarily the market value, and it didn't change much at all when it went up (or down) in value. In fact, that was the main point at issue with California's Prop 13 tax law. When I bought my house in Pasadena California in 1999, I paid $170K for it. When I sold it 7 years later in 2006, it sold for more than triple what I paid for it, but my property taxes had barely gone up at all in those 7 years. When we sold, it was being assessed at $180K (at California's much lower property tax rates), which meant an increase in my tax bill of probably less than $100. That hasn't been the case here in Texas. My combined taxes (county & ISD) have gone up by about 15% in the past 5 years alone.

The point is, stephengauntt says he was conned into buying some worthless land. Perhaps he was assessed based on the price paid, not the actual value? Plus, if the land truly is worthless, any taxes would be too much. That's a tough spot to be in.

When I was in high school in the 1960s, my dad and his brothers invested in a couple of real estate projects together. One of them was quite successful. They bought an old house on a lot right at the edge of the downtown commercial district in Claremont, and they built a small professional office building. Their tenants were folks like dentists and psychologists. They sold it years later for a tidy profit.

The other was a piece of acreage.....maybe 50 acres as I recall.......on the Kona coast of Hawaii. They bought it sight unseen, based on the word of an acquaintance and some photographs. In the photographs, it was incredibly beautiful. It was also directly in the path of a lava flow, which wasn't shown in the photographs. They got had. It happens. I can't remember if they eventually sold it, or just walked away from it.

[The Annoyed Man]

In retrospect, I probably thoroughly researched it because I came from California where the mere thought of trying to get a carry license is a cause for significant concern.

Anyway, I didn't mean to be critical. I had just never seen anyone express surprise at any of that stuff. I apologize if I came off as obnoxious.

Just because OldGringo agrees with you, doesn't mean you're obnoxious. But, it's a good indicator!

God help me!

[apostate]

My combined taxes (county & ISD) have gone up by about 15% in the past 5 years alone.

I don't know how they do things up North. However, Harris County was not the least bit shy about increasing the assessed value of real property, back when the housing market was doing well.

On the subject of eligibility, I believe someone who didn't bother to read the eligibility requirements would be making a false statement on the "Knowledge of Laws and Eligibility Affidavit" form. Or has the application process changed so much since my last go-round?

[MasterOfNone]

I'm intrigued by the idea that some people would not know the eligibility criteria before submitting their applications. Before I send off $140 for an application, I want to know that I qualify. You are even required to affirm that you have read the criteria (one of the affidavits).

[MasterOfNone]

My combined taxes (county & ISD) have gone up by about 15% in the past 5 years alone.

I don't know how they do things up North. However, Harris County was not the least bit shy about increasing the assessed value of real property, back when the housing market was doing well.

And I'm sure they promptly reduced the assessments when the market tanked.