Quote:
Originally Posted by dinonz
Is your "cabin" in Wisconsin some sort of mansion with 15 pools and an air-strip?
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No, not hardly. I've substantially improved the land I bought and I've acquired some contiguous properties along the way, but the cabin is a modest 3100 sqft. The big tax shake-down in my case began when the Wisconsin DNR suddenly declared the previously uncharted and nameless body of water that my land adjoins to be a "recreational body of water" the year after I built my cabin (pure coincidence, of course), and thus from that point forward the 3 of us who own all the shoreline property on this private puddle were now subject to radically increased tax rates.
It's a cash extraction scheme that started back in the '80s when Chicagoland folks started buying and developing vacation properties in Wisconsin. The locals retain control; if you're not a resident you don't get to vote on anything and you'll likely be bent over and fucked good and hard when it comes to taxes, permits, building code variances, etc.
My cabin is my refuge and my workshop and my Valhalla. If you want to play, you've got to pay. I'm blessed to be able to afford it. Doesn't mean I think it's fair, though.