2003 Tax Budget Calculator
Where do my property taxes go?
by Ned Benton
(July 3, 2003) Every
year, Larchmont and Town of Mamaroneck homeowners
turn over
a significant
portion
of
their income
to local government in the form of property taxes. This past
year was a difficult budget year for every taxing entity
- and for the tax payers. There were decreases in state
and federal aid, and increases in pension and insurance costs.
Budgets and tax rates were higher. So where is all that tax
money going?
The charts above and below show that about
one quarter of your tax dollars goes to the Town or Village,
another quarter goes to the County and about one half goes
to the Schools.
Most of us have only a rough idea of what happens to those
dollars -- they go for schools, streets, police, fire and
library services. Larchmont Gazette's interactive Property
Tax Calculator is designed to give you a more complete idea
of where the dollars go.
To use the Calculator, first figure out (or guess) your
total annual property tax payment, including the county,
school,
town and village portions. Be sure to take into consideration
the deduction in school taxes you're entitled to via the
state's
STAR program. Then select the appropriate option below.
Homeowners with Standard STAR Deductions - Most Non-Seniors
Home Owners with Senior STAR deductions - Most Seniors
Property Owners with no STAR deductions -Most Businesses
You will be asked to enter your tax, and the calculator does
the rest.
The illustration relies on the published budget for the four
governments. The County budget is available online at Summaries
of the County Budget for 2003. The Mamaroneck School District
budget is also available online at 2003-2004
Approved Budget. The Village of Larchmont and the Town
of Mamaroneck do not publish their budgets online, but they
are available on reserve at the Larchmont Public Library.
STAR deductions are based on the Median
Star Savings for Westchester County. Provided that you
have registered for the deduction, your tax bill will automatically
reflect this deduction. Star
Overview provides more information about this program.
Because the taxing entities use somewhat different categories
and operate on different calendars, the illustration relies
on some simplification, collapsing and combination of budget
lines. Also, the chart does not take into consideration that
the governments do not allocate revenues from all their revenue
sources equally across all their budget items. However, you
do get a basic picture of where the dollars go.
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