My registration/renewal is only $34.50/year here in Ohio.
Well factor in smog thatās another $95
I feel like Iām getting a huge band for my buck with my Florida sales tax and Property tax when compared with the lousy evidence of tax dollars at work up in the frozen north.
The police presence, EMS, Fire and Marine Rescue division coverages are obvious and appreciated. The equipment is modern and up to date. Roads can be crowded, but beautifully maintained. The parks/recreation & sports facilities, bike lanes/trails, public beaches, public transportation, and nature preserves, to name a couple of things, are awesome.
Besides, I like seeing the moto on the sides of the Holmes Beach Sheriff boats, pick-up trucks, and SUVs. Following the huge surfing waves on the vehiclesā sides it says, āProtecting Paradiseā. And they truly are doing just that! Nice guys, too!
CSA 
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What type of music does that band play?
And, in order to know what you are getting for your ābuckā, we need to know how many musicians are in that band.
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As a New Mexican I know our secret: that tax money is Americansā, not New Mexicansā. NM is the largest ārecipientā of federal tax dollars per capita.
This doesnāt tell the whole story: NM has 3 national labs (Los Alamos, Sandia, White Sands), 2 AF bases (Hollis, Kirtland), the highest percentage of Native Americans, a border with Mexico, lots of federally-owned land (BLM, NFS, NPS), a nuclear waste dump, so itās mostly money spent doing the nationās work, not handouts to citizens.
There is also the issue of what you get for the taxes collected. Low taxes donāt always mean efficiency. It can also mean that the publicās needs are poorly met, and that state or local employees are ignored. Look at the states recently where teacher are or were on strike because low pay and lack of overall support for the school system. I well imagine that other civil employees are treated badly too. People that can leave bad situations often do.
Oops! I meant to write ābangā. You seem like a fairly able guy. Iām a bit surprised you didnāt figure that out!
CSA
Itās not apples to apples however as there are differences involved. New York has winter that requires expensive snow removal and road damage from salt and plowing. Florida not so much. Also critical mass to consider- New Mexico has lots of territory with roads but not so many people to cover cost. Then the opposite, when there are too many people placing heavy burden on services/infrastructure. I think thereās a sweet spot in that regard. Hard to gauge efficiency using tax per capita imo. Certainly better than the miniscule part of the pie just comparing car reg costs!
I am retired and live in NY State. NY is pretty kind to retirees. $20,000 of retirement income is exempt from state tax plus a couple has a $13000 exemption and Social Security is not state taxed. Also there is a Senior Star exemption on property taxes if your income is less than $82000 or $84000 a year (donāt remember which). You can live very well in any part of NY state that has no proximity to NY City for mush less than that.
Sheesh, in the Peoples Republic of Minnesota, I paid about $395 for the Acura and about $280 for the Pontiac. Yeah for one year. In South Dakota it would be $35 for each but my Nephew in Denver paid over $700 for one.
Hey Bing! Speaking of cars, state car registrations, etceteraā¦ my wife and I rode our bikes a couple miles up the road last Saturday evening to watch the Desoto Grand Parade go by. It features over 100 floats, takes about 3 hours, and around 200,000 audience members attend.
Imagine my surprise when in the middle of all the floats with pirate ship themes, mermaids, tiki bars, dolphins, manatees, and palm trees, there wereā¦ no jokingā¦
ā¦ 5 new Ford Mustang convertibles (FL registrations) in a row containing āroyaltyā from the St. Paul Minnesota Winter Carnival! The queenās white fur looked a bit out of placeā¦ ha, ha, ha!
CSA 
Om, so what.
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Heh heh, well you know everyone up here in the frozen north needs to get away to sunshine once in a while. What better opportunity than a parade? Snows all gone now though.
Mustang convertibles are almost the State Car on the west coast. Rental agencies are thick with 'em. Tourists love them.
Edit: West coast of Florida! Not sure about California. Heck, I rented one on a vacation to southwest FL before I bought my first Mustang.
I had one once on a trip to LA in January. Yes, the top was down, day and night, every day. Good thing the heater worked.