This comprehensive guide to understanding and paying less property tax for dummies is the best-value beginners book on the market. Covering everything from commercial buy-to-let and jet-to-let to property development and investing through a company, it explains a notoriously confusing subject in straightforward and easy to follow language. Packed full of tax saving tips and strategies, Understanding and Paying Less Tax For Dummies will help British property owners and investors minimise their tax bills and maximise their returns.

Taxes! Boring and irritating, right? Perhaps. But if you want to succeed in real estate, your tax strategy will play a HUGE role in how fast you grow. A great tax strategy can save you thousands of dollars a year - and a bad strategy could land you in legal trouble. That's why BiggerPockets is excited to introduce its newest book, The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor! To help you deduct more, invest smarter, and pay far less to the IRS!

In A Good Tax, tax expert Joan Youngman skillfully considers how to improve the operation of the property tax and supply the information that is often missing in public debate. She analyzes the legal, administrative, and political challenges to the property tax in the United States and offers recommendations for its improvement. The book is accessibly written for policy analysts and public officials who are dealing with specific property tax issues and for those concerned with property tax issues in general.

The use of property tax incentives for business by local governments throughout the United States has escalated over the last 50 years. While there is little evidence that these tax incentives are an effective instrument to promote economic development, they cost state and local governments $5 to $10 billion each year in forgone revenue. Three major obstacles can impede the success of property tax incentives as an economic development tool. First, incentives are unlikely to have a significant impact on a firm's profitability since property taxes are a small part of the total costs for most businesses--averaging much less than 1 percent of total costs for the U.S. manufacturing sector. Second, tax breaks are sometimes given to businesses that would have chosen the same location even without the incentives. When this happens, property tax incentives merely deplete the tax base without promoting economic development. Third, widespread use of incentives within a metropolitan area reduces their effectiveness, because when firms can obtain similar tax breaks in most jurisdictions, incentives are less likely to affect business location decisions. This report reviews five types of property tax incentives and examines their characteristics, costs, and effectiveness: property tax abatement programs; tax increment finance; enterprise zones; firm-specific property tax incentives; and property tax exemptions in connection with issuance of industrial development bonds. Alternatives to tax incentives should be considered by policy makers, such as customized job training, labor market intermediaries, and business support services. State and local governments also can pursue a policy of broad-based taxes with low tax rates or adopt split-rate property taxation with lower taxes on buildings than land.State policy makers are in a good position to increase the effectiveness of property tax incentives since they control how local governments use them. For example, states can restrict the use of incentives to certain geographic areas or certain types of facilities; publish information on the use of property tax incentives; conduct studies on their effectiveness; and reduce destructive local tax competition by not reimbursing local governments for revenue they forgo when they award property tax incentives.Local government officials can make wiser use of property tax incentives for business and avoid such incentives when their costs exceed their benefits. Localities should set clear criteria for the types of projects eligible for incentives; limit tax breaks to mobile facilities that export goods or services out of the region; involve tax administrators and other stakeholders in decisions to grant incentives; cooperate on economic development with other jurisdictions in the area; and be clear from the outset that not all businesses that ask for an incentive will receive one.Despite a generally poor record in promoting economic development, property tax incentives continue to be used. The goal is laudable: attracting new businesses to a jurisdiction can increase income or employment, expand the tax base, and revitalize distressed urban areas. In a best case scenario, attracting a large facility can increase worker productivity and draw related firms to the area, creating a positive feedback loop. This report offers recommendations to improve the odds of achieving these economic development goals.

IRS insider Sandy Botkin reveals the tax strategies you can use to increase your ROIs by as much as 20 percent-whether you're a home owner or a real estate investor. This accessible guide demystifies real estate taxes and shows how to achieve maximum benefit when buying, owning, selling, managing, repairing, and investing in properties. Features numerous forms, charts, sample documents, and other valuable tax-saving tools Gives you the basics on real estate taxes and shows how to take full advantage of tax loopholes

This text provides a history of property tax in America, revealing the fundamental difficulties confronting all past attempts at designing an equitable and efficient system of property taxation during the past two centuries.

Need a mortgage but worried about the market? In Mortgages For Dummies, 3rd Edition, bestselling authors Eric Tyson and Ray Brown give you proven solutions for obtaining a mortgage, whether you want to buy your first home, refinance, or tap into your equity. You get the latest on sub-prime and adjustable-rate mortgages, finding the best lender, avoiding fiscal pitfalls and foreclosure, and much, much, more! This easy-to-understand, objective, and jargon-free guide helps you fine-tune your finances, figure out what you can afford, and improve your credit score before you go mortgage shopping. You’ll get familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages, 15- and 30-year loans, and conforming and jumbo packages. You also get help finding and working with reputable professionals, comparing programs, and securing terms you can live with. Discover how to: Match your mortgage to your financial goals Qualify for a mortgage even when money is tight Find the right loan for you Choose the best lender/broker Negotiate the best terms Calculate your costs and payments Understand and complete all paperwork Refinance an existing mortgage Understand and consider special situation loans Explore reverse mortgages and other options Decipher amortization tables and comparison worksheets Use the Internet wisely when mortgage shopping Now, more than ever, you need clear, reliable information that helps you get the mortgage you need at a price you can afford. You need Mortgages For Dummies, 3rd Edition!