Property tax initiatives

From Ballotpedia

In the United States, property tax on real estate is usually assessed by local government, at the municipal or county level. A very important benefit of a tax on property over a tax on income is that the revenue always equals the tax levy, unlike income or sales taxes, which can result in shortfalls producing deficits. The property tax always produces the required revenue for municipalities' tax levies. On the other hand property taxes can have a negative impact on individuals with fixed incomes such as the elderly and those who have lost their jobs. Gentrification in low income areas of a city can drive property taxes to the point where long time residents of an area are forced to leave.

The assessment is made up of two components — the improvement or building value and the land or site value. In some states, personal property is also taxed. A tax assessor is a public official who determines the value of real property for the purpose of apportioning the tax levy. An appraiser may work for government or private industry and may determine the value of real property for any purpose.

Tax assessor offices maintain inventory information about improvements to real estate. They also create and maintain tax maps. This is accomplished with the help of surveyors. On tax maps, individual properties are shown and given unique parcel identifiers. The tax maps help to ensure that no properties are omitted from the tax rolls and that no properties are taxed more than once. Real property taxes are usually collected by an official other than the assessor. Duplicate examples of a proposed alternate to ad valorum assessments is provided at the following sites as sponsored by the The Henry George Foundation. Maryland, King County, Washington, Indiana, New Jersey, New York. In fact many localities have gone online.

The assessment of an individual piece of real estate may be according to one or more of the normally accepted methods of valuation (i.e. income approach, market value or replacement cost). Assessments may be given at 100 percent of value or at some lesser percentage. In most if not all assessment jurisdictions, the determination of value made by the assessor is subject to some sort of administrative or judicial review, if the appeal is instituted by the property owner.

Ad valorem (of value) property taxes are based on fair market property values of individual estates. A local tax assessor then applies an established assessment rate to the fair market value. By multiplying the tax rate x against the assessed value of the property, a tax due is calculated. These taxes are collected by municipalities such as cities, counties, and districts in many locations in the United States. They fund municipal budgets for school systems, sewers, parks, libraries, fire stations, hospitals, etc.

After determining a budget at the municipal level, a legislative appropriation determines how the monies will be collected and distributed. After that, a tax authority levies the tax. An appeal is permitted. Equalization is then considered by a board of equalizers to assure fair treatment. Then a tax rate is determined by dividing the municipal budget by the assessment role of that municipality. Multiplying tax rate by the assessed value of one's property determines one's tax rate.

Some jurisdictions have both [[Ad valorem tax|ad valorem]] and non-[[Ad valorem tax|ad valorem]] property taxes (better known as special assessments). The latter come in the form of a fixed charge (regardless of the value of the underlying property) for items such as street lighting and storm sewer control.

In the United States, another form of property tax is the personal property tax, which can target

• automobiles, boats, aircraft and other vehicles;
• other valuable durable goods such as works of art (most household goods and personal effects are usually exempt);
• business inventory;
• intangible assets such as stocks and bonds.

In some states, it is permissible to separate the real estate tax, into two separate taxes—one the land value and one on the building value.

2008 Initiatives related to property taxes

• Arizona Property Tax Levy Rollback (2008)
• Arizona Property Tax Valuation Rollback (2008)
• Prop 13 Arizona (2008)

References

Parts of this article were taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia