MillageRate.com

Although there is no indication that officials in this Gwinnett county seat calculated the millage rate correctly, this AJC story describes what should happen in practice. As assessments (the Net Tax Digest) increase, the millage rate should decrease as long as the politicians control the cost of government.

Lawrenceville Mayor Rex Millsaps is lobbying to roll back the millage from 2.20 to 2.16. He said he expects the measure to pass during a meeting at 3 p.m. today.

But Lawrenceville residents shouldn’t make a wish list of what to do with that extra money. The mayor said on Tuesday that he’s only pushing for a millage reduction to compensate for an anticipated increase in property assessments this year by Gwinnett County officials.

“Theoretically, this would keep their property taxes the same,” the mayor said.

Residents can voice their opinions at a public hearing scheduled at the beginning of the 3 p.m. meeting. Millsaps said he doubts there will be a crowd since the city is trying to give taxpayers a break, not a tax increase.

Councilman Mike Crow said he is in favor of the tax reduction. “We shouldn’t take in extra funds if we don’t have big projects going on,” he said. “If we don’t need the money, why burden the taxpayers?” [...]

LAWRENCEVILLE: Mayor wants to offset property assessments | ajc.com

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3:00 pm - SR-796, the proposed constitutional amendment to ‘freeze’ property assessments at present levels (plus 3% annually) is being considered on the House floor as part of a grander plan to eliminate the auto ad valorem tax and fund a trauma center.

3:53 pm - The vote on the resolution failed, 110-62 (2/3 majority required for a constitutional amendment).

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Click the link below for my AJC commentary on the proposed constitutional amendments to impose a statewide assessment “freeze.”

MY VIEW: Freeze won’t correct property tax problems | ajc.com

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Filed under: In the News, Our View

 The following was sent to Georgia’s State Senators following their votes to approve two resolutions that would amend the state constitution to impose a tax assessment “freeze” on all real property.

Greetings, Senator.

I write to explain why either SR-686 or SR-796, both constitutional amendments to freeze property tax assessments, would, if passed not only fail to solve the problem that they are intended to address but would cause additional harm to Georgia taxpayers.

I also want to highlight a simple law change that would accomplish the goals of these two resolutions without the need for a constitutional amendment.

Tax “freezes,” simply by an operation of the math, create inequity in the property tax system. In other words, some taxpayers will pay a higher percentage of their property’s Fair Market Value in tax than will others.

Read more…

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A “voice crying in the wilderness….” That’s me as the 2008 session of the Georgia General Assembly prepares to crank up.

House Speaker Glenn Richardson has been traveling the state trying to drum up support for his “GREAT Plan,” a proposal to replace all property taxes with a state-managed sales tax.

Richardson’s plan to push his legislation through this session has generated a flurry of other property tax bills from both Democrats and Republicans. The AJC article linked below describes several proposals.

The article prompted me to send the following to Senator Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) in the hopes that it will generate a fair hearing of the simple solution described at this site:

Senator Johnson,

I note that you have filed legislation proposing a statewide freeze in residential property taxes. According to the AJC, “the amendment would raise the homestead exemption on property to match any increase in assessments. Several of Georgia’s 159 counties already have such a system in place….”

I have contacted you several times in the past regarding the danger of property tax “freezes;” how ANY artificial limit on assessed values will, over time, actually INCREASE tax rates to the point that any benefit will be lost. Your current proposal (and similar proposals by Rep. Levitas and others) will not eliminate “back door tax increases” but actually CAUSE them. Moreover, I can show you how tax “freezes” harm those on low and fixed incomes while providing a substantial tax break for the more affluent.

I can easily prove this mathematically.

To date, you have not responded to my requests for an opportunity to discuss a simple solution to the problem of out-of-control tax bills resulting from higher assessments. Quite frankly, I am frustrated by the lack of interest on such an important issue.

Given the opportunity, I can explain how the codification of a process for calculating the millage rate can accomplish what you desire and more. This process is nothing new– it has been taught by the Department of Revenue for decades to tax commissioners, appraisers and assessors.

If you want to enact TRUE property tax reform and not just politically-popular yet totally ineffective legislation, you will give me the opportunity to explain my proposal. In fact, I extend this invitation to any legislator who wants to lead on this issue.

For the record, I am a former Chairman of a county Board of Equalization and have received the required and additional training in property tax matters. I am also trained as a real estate appraiser. I have also published the top-ranked web site on this topic at www.millagerate.com.

Respectfully,

Taxes turn into a target for legislators | ajc.com

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Filed under: Our View