Unquestionably, there is progress.  The average American now pays out twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages.

— H.L. Mencken

So, I went to the my property tax appeal yesterday.

No, this isn’t the start of a lame joke and no, I didn’t appeal my property taxes.

The City of Pittsburgh appealed my taxes to the County of Allegheny (yes, these ones).  Apparently they, like most municipalities and school districts in the area, do this automatically when a house is sold.  They have a formula that helps them figure out whether to appeal or not, but basically, at the core, the heart of the matter is… they want more money.

My job was to fight the appeal.

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