MillageRate.com

It is being reported this morning that the House Ways and Means Committee passed out several property tax reform measures including SR-796, a constitutional amendment which would freeze property assessments at the 2007 rate. It was amended to also freeze millage rates set by local governments at the 2008 rate.  All three measures now go the House Rules Committee and then on to the House floor.

The following was sent to the House Rules Committee and others this morning:

“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it
is sin.” — James 4:17

Representatives:

Whether you accept the spiritual implications or not, the reasoning behind the above verse is unassailable. It is a greater error for a man who knows the correct course of action to NOT take it, than it is for the ignorant man to make the same mistake.

As a former Chairman of a county Board of Equalization who was trained extensively in property tax matters, I can prove MATHEMATICALLY that proposals such as Sen. Chip Rogers’ constitutional amendment to impose a statewide assessment freeze will not only fail to accomplish its stated goals but will actually HARM Georgia’s most vulnerable property owners while providing a lucrative tax advantage to the most affluent.

Read more…

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

(This article has been updated for the 2009-2010 legislative session.)

This session, the Georgia Legislature may approve HR-1, which is a bill to amend the constitution to limit increases in the assessed value of property to a maximum of 3% a year.

If passed by the Legislature and approved by the voters via a referendum in November, the assessment “freeze” will apply to all property in the state except where more restrictive “freezes” or value offset exemptions are already in place; in that case, the more restrictive law will still apply.

We believe that this proposal, if approved, will cause great harm to the owners of lower-valued and less desirable homes in the state’s more stable areas. Those homes tend to be occupied by the elderly and those on fixed or limited incomes. Below, we have included an illustration of the harm that this bill will cause. Read more…