MORTGAGE BUBBLE . . . COULD IT TRANSLATE INTO HIGHER PROPERTY TAXES

Home Price Index Falls 0.2% in August

Posted: 26 Oct 2010 02:29 PM PDT

In Tuesday's release of the S&P's/Case-Shiller home price index, housing prices fell by 0.2 percent in August from the month before. Fifteen of the 20 featured cities showed monthly price declines, and prices are expected to continue to drop in the coming months. Phoenix saw the largest decline with a 1.3% drop in home prices. Prices in three California cities--San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles--which had previously showed strength, also fell, but by less than 1%.

Detroit, Chicago, Washington, New York and Las Vegas were the only cities to show monthly price increases.

Although the index has risen 6.7% from its lowest level in April 2009, it remains almost 28% below its peak in July 2006.

Housing markets may continue to struggle due to recent complications with foreclosure documents. Would-be buyers are refraining from home purchases because of potentially invalid foreclosure purchases. In an October National Association of Realtors survey, about 23% of real estate agents said they had clients no longer interested in purchasing a foreclosed property due to the foreclosure mess.

GUMSHOE POLITICS AND PRESSING THE FLESH ... AND THE WINNER IS!

NEW FAIRFIELD -- Republican Richard Smith andDemocrat Ken Neal Jr. are in accord on many of the things that should happen in Hartford during the next legislative session.

• Reducing the cost of government 
• Reining in the spending 
• Rebuilding the economy 
• Both also favor expanding passenger rail service 
• oppose allowing municipalities to impose new levies
• Regionalization of Operation of towns to lower local budgets.

THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CANDIDATES IS IN THE SUPPORT OF THE DEATH PENALTY.  

Neal, who for the past three years has worked as an aide to Speaker of the House Christopher Donovan, said unhesitatingly he would obey the wishes of voters if legislation is raised in the upcoming session to repeal capital punishment.

Overwhelmingly, voters he has spoken to while going door-to-door in the district, which covers Kent, Sherman and parts of New Fairfield and New Milford, support the death penalty, Neal said.

Smith a practicing attorney, said his Christian values leave him on the fence on the issue.

While some murderers, involved in crimes such as the killing of three members of the Petit family in Cheshire three years ago, merit execution, the Bible preaches forgiveness, Smith said.

"Right now, I'm not there yet," he said.

MEETING HILL HOUSE SCHOOL AND OUR CHILDREN'S HEALTH/SAFETY

Sent: Sun, October 24, 2010 8:48:08 PM
Subject: Meeting Hill House School and our childrens health / safety

All - I am sending you a letter that I will forward on to the citizen news.  The short story is that our children are in an unhealthy environment in MHHS.  Please take a moment to read this and pass it along to as many folks as you like. 

Regards,
Steve

Steven Roe, CEO
West Highland Support Services, LLC60 E. 42nd St.
Suite 401
New York, NY 10165
(0) 212 867 1848 x111
(C) 917 513 1871

Concerned Parents of Meeting Hill House School


Recently a meeting was held by the NF School district in the MHHS cafeteria to present the status of the construction project. This was prompted by formal complaints by several parents, myself included with regard to the unsafe, unhealthy environment that our children are being taught in. What was surprising to me was that there were only 5 or 6 parents that attended this meeting. This is a very serious issue that I hope to bring to your attention.


This project is a 25 million dollar project that is to run on for 2.5 years or so and is desperately needed. The problem here is that our children, especially the 5th graders (200 wing) are sitting in class rooms that do not have ceilings or finished floors. The school is running HEPA filters to clean as much hazardous particulate out of the air as it can but there are much more serious concerns here. First, the DEP is and has been involved and is monitoring this situation. PCB’s (CANCER CAUSING CONTAMINATES) were found in the caulking and masonry. The school has covered the inside facing caulking in an attempt to
contain the hazardous chemicals. The school, at the direction of the DEP is removing 4-6 feet of soil around the school (which was contaminated with PCB’s) and 4-6 inches of brick will be cut from around the windows when the windows are to be swapped out. 


In addition, asbestos was found and we were told that it was also abated all adhering to state guidelines. On the surface you might think this is OK but it is not. Our children are in class rooms that have a particle board insulating ceiling which is filled with formaldehyde (yet another cancer causing chemical). This particle board will go through a process of out-gassing through its lifetime where the formaldehyde enters the air that the children breathe. In fairness, a lot of the out-gassing occurs when the product is first installed but it continues during the life of the product. What accelerates the out-gassing process is heat. If you have entered the school you could smell the particle board as it was out-gassing due to the heat that we have had. THIS IS NOT HEALTHY AND CAN CAUSE ASTHMA OR CANCER LATER ON IN LIFE.


Are you awake yet ? 


Next, the floor was removed and sand blasted to remove the adhesive. This has made the floor porous and very dusty. More importantly, you should be aware that the dust generated from a porous concrete floor is caustic.


That means IT CAN CAUSE CANCER. The school facilities manager takes air samples with a particle meter seeing if we are within state guidelines and we were told that we are well within state guidelines. The problem with that is how much cancer causing material do you want your children to be breathing ? Do you trust ANY state or government run agency ? You may not think this is much of an issue because the DEP is involved but they were also one of the agencies claiming the air at ground zero was safe.


Countless people have died and have contracted respiratory illnesses and cancer thanks to “government agencies”. Albeit well intentioned, the school deployed HEPA filters to continually circulate the air. This process is necessary but on a porous concrete floor and an open ceiling adds to the problem of spreading dust around. By the schools own samples we were told that the children in the 200 wing are breathing in 3 times the amount of particles then the children that are not in the area of construction.


There are many other serious issues that I will save for another time. There was a solution and the school/planning board did not elect to use it. Temporary classrooms could have (and still can be) deployed to protect our children (and our teachers) from this hazardous construction environment. We were told that the cost was 1 million dollars so it was obviously a consideration. Was the choice money vs. the health and well being of our children? It appears so. I understand that this was not budgeted for but that is why all construction projects have contingencies. 


There are many other options to get funding between grants, fund raising, philanthropic avenues, etc. Our children need to be in a safe environment and in my opinion; they do not have one at this time. I will leave you with one last piece of information; the school has contracted with a company called Hygenix who is testing the air quality.


I specifically asked the gentlemen from Hygenix how many other schools that undertake this type of project leave the children in the school. He paused for a moment and responded “not that many”.


Please get involved and be aware of your children’s health. If they have itchy eyes, skin irritation, coughing, headaches, etc. DO NOT IGNORE IT.

ANTHEM BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ... PROTECTING YOUR HEALTH

Connecticut's largest health insurer, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, has received approval to raise rates between 19% - 44% thanks to the impact from Obamacare regulations.

WHERE ARE THE ARCHIVES FOR THE INTERNET TV ?

HOLLYWOOD COMES TO NEW FAIRFIELD ... BUT WHERE ARE THE ARCHIVES FOR THE INTERNET BROADCAST TV?  WELL THE PROGRAM JUST STARTED ... HOWEVER WE HOPE THE STREAM WILL BE ARCHIVED AND AVAILABLE.



THEN AGAIN, IF THE STREAM IS NOT GOING TO BE ARCHIVED THE FOLLOWING IS THE METHOD FOR CAPTURING THE STREAM.

Silverlight, a web application framework owned by Microsoft, is just similar with Adobe flash video player. This is the technology used to provide this service to New Fairfield. Streaming Video Capture is the great software tool to enable you to quickly capture Silverlight streaming video, rip Silverlight video, record Silverlight video and save Silverlight video to your hard drive. It is complete program designed tocapture streaming video from YouTube-like video sites and also offer the video convert function which allows you to convert Silverlight video to various video/audio formats like MP4, 3GP, MOV, etc. for iPod or iPhone.

Tutorial on capture Silverlight video with Streaming Video Capture software

Capturing streaming video allows you to play it offline at your convenient time. Learn how to easily capture Silverlight video using this high-quality Streaming Video Capture program.

1. First you need to download Streaming Video Capture, install and launch it.

2. Before capture Silverlight video stream, click “Settings” in the Streaming Video Capture window to perform the setup.

3. Start to play a Silverlight video. Whenever you begin playing a video in your web browser, the program will automatically start to capture it in the background. So, capture Silverlight streaming video from web is super easy, you don’t have to find and paste URL link – it capture and save Silverlight video to computer automatically!

See how easy it is to capture video from Silverlight player with Streaming Video Capture! Also you could use it to capture video from any online source regardless of what format.

Download Streaming Video Capture

Convert Silverlight video

Video convert is another important part of this program. Click “Convert” switch to the video converter section, you can start your video conversion now. There are many options displayed in the profile’s drop-down, you can choose the output format as “iPod MPEG4 Video”, “PS3 DivX Video” or others, set up the output path and click “Start” to convert the downloaded Silverlight videos.

Another method I know is capture Silverlight video with Video Download Capture

Sure there are many other tools available to record Silverlight video, capture Silverlight video and save Silverlight video.Video Download Capture is another tool which also helps you capture Silverlight video stream. It supports almost all video sharing sites out there. And the inbuilt video converter allows you to convert video into MP4, AVI, MOV, 3GP and MP3 file.

Simply copy and paste the URL of the Silverlight video and click “Add to download”. Video Download Capture is definitely one of my favorite programs to capture Silverlight video.

A MAKE OVER OR COVER UP?

The Town Hall gets more attention than the library which has better hours of service to the town . . .  go figure!


I was in the TH today and it certainly needs attention, when the windows are closed you can see out through the poorly purchased, designed, installed windows ... need replacement . . . a green project. Not the green your thinking about ... your taxes kind of green! Well,  fortunately for me I made it into the TH before the witching hour of 12 noon on Friday.  Many town residents wish that the TH had better and more convenient hours . . . like the library.  Enough said, that is a touchy subject.  Oh well (!) back to the make over.  The front of the TH was done ... not long ago ... must have been the low bidder!  Well as the old saying goes, if at first you don't succeed, do it over and cover up the old stuff.  Must be a stimulus project . . . hammer ready.

WITH THE LOWEST TAXES OF SURROUNDING STATES ... COULD THERE BE A SUT INCREASE IN OUR FUTURE?

September 16, 2010 2010-R-0379

OLR BACKGROUNDER: CONNECTICUT'S SALES AND USE TAX

By: Rute A. Pinho, Associate Analyst
This report provides an overview of Connecticut's sales and use tax. It (1) describes major sales tax exemptions and (2) compares the tax rates, range of taxable services, and sales tax holidays in Connecticut and nearby states.

OVERVIEW OF CONNECTICUT'S SALES AND USE TAX

Connecticut taxes items and services purchased in the state (sales tax) and those purchased outside the state for use here (use tax). The state imposes a 6% sales tax on retail sales of all tangible personal property and specific services provided by companies doing business in the state. Consumers pay the tax to the retailer at the time of the purchase.
The 6% use tax applies to the same goods and services a person buys outside the state for use in Connecticut. If a retailer does not collect sales tax on these purchases when they occur, the consumer must pay the equivalent use tax directly to the Department of Revenue Services (DRS). Use tax is generally paid along with an individual's personal income tax payments or, in the case of a vehicle purchased in another state, when an individual registers the car here.
The sales and use tax applies to all tangible personal property unless it is expressly exempted by law (CGS §§ 12-408, 12-412). Taxable services, on the other hand, are specifically enumerated in the statutes (CGS §§ 12-407(I) – (P), 12-407(37)).DRS makes a list of these services available on its website.
There are three exceptions to the 6% rate. The state imposes a sales tax of (1) 12% on short-term stays in hotels and lodging houses; (2) 4. 5% on sales of motor vehicles to a nonresident member of the U. S. Armed Forces serving on active duty in Connecticut, or his or her spouse; and (3) 1% on computer and data processing services.
The Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA) projects that the sales and use tax will bring in $ 3.165 billion in revenue in FY 11, or 17.9% of total General Fund revenues. This compares to $ 3. 204 billion, or 18.1%, in FY 10.

MAJOR EXEMPTIONS

State law exempts many types of goods and services from the sales and use tax. Table 1 lists the exemptions for goods and services with an estimated FY 11 revenue loss of over $ 10 million. It includes a brief description of the exemption and indicates whether it is for a consumer good, business good, or service. The revenue loss figures are from the 2010 Tax Expenditure Report, published by OFA. We have omitted the exemption for motor vehicle fuel because it is subject to other state taxes. We have included computer and data processing services, which are not exempt, but are subject to a reduced tax rate of 1%.
Eight of the 15 major exemptions listed are for consumer goods, including the two highest cost exemptions. OFA estimates that the food products and prescription drug exemptions will cost the state $ 375 million and $ 325 million in FY 11, respectively. The exemption for patient care services is the next highest, with an estimated cost of $ 180 million. The clothing exemption has an estimated cost of $ 130 million. The reduced sales tax rate for computer and data processing services will cost an estimated $ 90 million in FY 11.

Table 1: Major Sales Tax Exemptions

Exemption	Description	Type	FY 11 Estimated Revenue Loss (millions)
Food products	(1) Food products for human consumption, excluding meals sold by an eating establishment or caterer and (2) certain nonfood products, such as candy, gum, and soda	Consumer good	$ 375
Prescription medicines, syringes, needles	Prescription drugs and medicines, syringes, and needles	Consumer good	325
Patient care services	Hospital patient care services	Service	180
Fuel for heating purposes	Heating oil for (1) residential dwellings and (2) certain manufacturing, fabrication, or agricultural production facilities	Consumer/ business good	175
Clothing under $ 50	Clothing or footwear costing less than $ 50	Consumer good	130
Machinery used in manufacturing and component parts for the assembly of manufacturing machinery and production materials	Machinery, including component parts and production materials, used directly in a manufacturing production process	Business good	100
Computer and data processing	Certain computer and data processing services, including programming, code writing, software installation, and custom software development	Service	90
Amusement and recreation services1	Amusement and recreational services, such as dance studios, bowling alleys, and riding stables	Service	65
Newspapers and magazines	Magazine subscriptions and newspapers	Consumer good	65
Certain utilities sales	(1) Gas and electricity for residential use and certain manufacturing or agricultural production; (2) water, steam and telegraph; (3) electricity, if the monthly charge is $ 150 or less and it is not otherwise exempt; and (4) gas, water, steam, or electricity used in the furnishing of such utilities.	Consumer/ business good	53
Motor vehicles and vessels purchased by non-residents to use out-of-state	Motor vehicles or vessels sold in the state to nonresidents	Consumer good	45
Advertising	Non-media advertising and public relations services and direct mail advertising services, other than cooperative direct mail	Service	30
World wide web	Services rendered in connection with the creation, development hosting, or maintenance of a website	Service	30
Renovation and repair for residential property	Services, such as electrical, plumbing painting, and carpentry services, rendered to owner-occupied residential property	Service	21
Nonprescription drugs and medicines	Nonprescription drugs and medicines, including vitamins, antiseptics, and nonprescription eye medication	Consumer good	18

Source: OFA, Connecticut Tax Expenditure Report, March 2010

COMPARING SALES TAX RATES IN CONNECTICUT AND NEARBY STATES

Sales taxes across states vary by tax rate and base. Some states tax a broad number of goods and services, with few exemptions, while others tax relatively few. Table 2 shows sales tax rates for Connecticut and nearby states. Some states allow counties and municipalities to levy sales taxes. Consequently, the rate varies within these states.

Table 2: State and Local Sales Tax Rates in Nearby States

State	Sales Tax Rate
Connecticut	6%
Massachusetts	6. 25%
New Jersey	7%
New York	4% - 8. 875%
Pennsylvania	6% - 7%
Rhode Island	7%

Connecticut and parts of Pennsylvania have the lowest sales tax rates among the selected states. (Two counties in Pennsylvania levy an additional 1% tax. ) Massachusetts has the next highest rate at 6. 25%. While New York's state-level rate is low (4%), the local rates give it among the highest combined state-local rates in the country.

TAXABLE SERVICES

Although most states tax services to a certain degree, they vary widely in the number and types of services taxed. The Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) conducts a periodic survey of state service taxation. The FTA survey includes a list of 168 selected services, in different categories, to illustrate the extent to which each state taxes services. Across nearby states, Connecticut taxes the highest number of the services surveyed (79 out of 168). New Jersey taxes a comparable number (74), while Massachusetts taxes the fewest (18). New York and Pennsylvania tax a similar number of services, 57 and 55 respectively. Rhode Island, on the other hand, taxes only 29 services. None of the states tax professional services (e. g. , legal, accounting, and engineering services).
Table 3 lists a selection of specific services and indicates, for Connecticut and nearby states, whether the service is taxable in the state. We selected services to illustrate the variation in service taxation across the states. The check mark (Π) means that the service is taxed. The last column indicates the total number of states that tax the service.
Table 3: Taxable Services in Connecticut and Nearby States

Service	CT	MA	NY	NJ	RI*	PA	Total States
Armored car services	Π		Π	Π2			16
Automotive washing and waxing			Π	Π		Π	21
Carpet and Upholstery cleaning	Π		Π	Π		Π	19
Dating services	Π						8
Debt counseling	Π						7
Downloaded books and music	Π3			Π			17
Electricity (residential use)				Π			22
Employment agencies	Π					Π	11
Gift and package wrapping service						Π	21
Health clubs, tanning parlors, reducing salons	Π			Π			22
Horse boarding			Π4	Π			9
Household goods storage	Π		Π5	Π			13
Landscaping Services (including lawn care)	Π		Π6	Π		Π7	21
Limousine service (with driver)			Π	Π8			16
Pet grooming			Π	Π		Π	18
Private investigation services	Π		Π	Π			16
Swimming pool cleaning and maintenance	Π		Π	Π		Π9	17
Taxidermy		Π	Π	Π	Π	Π	26
Tuxedo rental	Π10	11	Π			Π	39
Window cleaning	Π		Π	Π		Π	19

Source: FTA, By The Numbers, 2007 Survey of Services Taxation – Update, July 2008
*RI did not respond to the FTA's 2007 survey. The data included is for 2004.
As the table shows, Connecticut and its surrounding states vary greatly in the services they tax. Connecticut is the only state that taxes dating and debt counseling services. Pennsylvania is the only state that taxes gift and package wrapping services.Among the selected services, Rhode Island taxes only taxidermy. And Connecticut and New Jersey are the only states that tax downloaded books and music. (Connecticut taxes book and music downloads at the 1% rate for computer and data processing services while New Jersey taxes them at 7%. )

SALES TAX HOLIDAYS

A sales tax holiday is a period during which a state suspends its sales tax on certain items. Among the 19 states with scheduled sales tax holidays in 2010, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont are the only northeastern states. Table 4 lists the (1) duration, (2) type and cost of eligible items, (3) first year, and (4) 2010 dates for the sales tax holidays in the northeast.
Unlike Massachusetts and Vermont, Connecticut's sales tax holiday is limited to clothing and footwear (CGS § 12-407e).Massachusetts exempts sales of any tangible personal property, costing $ 2,500 or less, from its sales tax over a two-day period. Similarly, Vermont limits its one-day exemption to sales of any tangible personal property costing $ 2,000 or less.
Table 4: 2010 Sales Tax Holidays in the Northeast

State	Days	Items Included	Maximum Cost	1st Year	2010 Dates
Connecticut	7	Clothing and footwear	$ 300	2001	August 15 -21
Massachusetts	2	Tangible personal property	$ 2,500	2008	August 14 – 15
Vermont	1	Tangible personal property	$ 2,000	2008	March 6

Source: FTA, 2010 State Sales Tax Holidays, August 3, 2010

HYPERLINKS

DRS' List of services subject to sales and use tax, http: //www. ct. gov/drs/cwp/view. asp?a=1477&Q=269930&drsPNavCtr=|40829|, last visited September 3, 2010.
FTA's 2007 Survey of Services Taxation – Update, http: //www. taxadmin. org/fta/pub/services/btn/0708. html, last visited September 3, 2010.
OFA's Connecticut Tax Expenditure Report: March 2010, http: //www. cga. ct.gov/ofa/Documents/RevItems/TaxExp/TaxExpenditureReportMarch2010. pdf, last visited September 9, 2010.
RP: df
¹ Admission charges to any place of amusement, entertainment, or recreation are subject to a 10% admissions tax.
² Taxable if the service is performed entirely in NJ or customer's location is in NJ.
³ Taxable as a computer and data processing service at 1% rate.
⁴ Training is exempt as a professional service
⁵ Storage of property is taxable, but rental of real property for storage is exempt
⁶ Taxable unless an exempt capital improvement (e. g. , installation of a new fence, pond, underground sprinkler, hardscaping - deck, paver patio, walkway, driveway, retaining wall, pool deck).
⁷ Lawn care is taxable; designing landscapes, planting trees, and maintaining landscape is exempt.
⁸ Taxable if limousine ride begins and ends within NJ.
⁹ Cleaning of above ground and indoor pools is taxable.
¹⁰ Taxable when rental is $ 50 or greater.
¹¹ Rental charges exceeding the $ 175 clothing exemption are taxable.