A two-year-old challenge to the homestead assessment `freeze` in Dade County, GA has finally gone to court. Superior Court Judge Brian House is expected to rule soon in a case that could set a precedence for ending unconstitutional assessment caps across the state.
Former County Commissioner Rex Blevins sued the county, alleging that the law that `freezes` a property’s value for tax purposes creates a special class of taxpayer, which is prohibited by the state Constitution.
We have published numerous articles on the harm to taxpayers inherent in the assessment caps.
Blevins and Townley made the argument during the hearing that granting a tax exemption to people eligible to apply for it in that year puts them in a favored class over those who buy later, offending standards of uniformity. “What you’re basically saying is, if you’re living right here and you’re voting right now, you’re going to get a tax break and we’re going to take care of you, compared to other folks that come in and buy property later,” said Townley.
The Dade County Sentinel
House Republicans will try once again to pass HR1, a resolution calling for a vote on a constitutional amendment to impose a permanent, statewide assessment cap. I sent the following to every member of the House by email:
House Democrats– please continue to resist efforts to pass HR1, now incorporated into SR1.
On this issue (statewide assessment cap), YOU ARE RIGHT and the REPUBLICANS ARE WRONG. The harm that this bill will cause is measurable and easily proven.
By resisting SR1/HR1, you will give Georgians REAL TAX RELIEF because you will have protected them from HIGHER TAX RATES caused by ignorant, POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED REPUBLICANS.
I am a conservative, but I am also intellectually honest. I am disgusted by Republicans’ refusal to understand this issue.
Please visit MillageRate.com/blog/ for more info. If you have any questions, you are welcome to contact me at 770-713-8070. Further, I am available to respond on your behalf to any effort by Republicans to use this vote against you.
It takes a two-thirds majority to call a referendum. That means Democrats would have to vote for it. They didn’t. Now the legislation is back. The House Rules Committee pasted it into Senate Resolution 1, state Sen. Chip Rogers repeated effort to get some sort of TABOR amendment into the state constitution.
Georgia Legislative Watch » HR 1 back from the dead
The Georgia State Senate has passed an amended version of HB-233, a bill to prohibit increases in the assessed value of property for the next two years. The changes will probably have to be reconciled with the House version, but the vote puts the bill one step closer to passage.
Almost every Senator from my home county of Gwinnett, both Republican and Democrat, voted FOR this bill. That is extremely unfortunate, as this article at TalkGwinnett.com explains.
Gwinnett property owners already face an estimated 2-mill increase this year. If it passes, HB-233 will add another .02 mills– approximately $22– on a tax bill that is already increasing by $144 for the owner of a $200,000 home.
I have published an article at TalkGwinnett.com about my home county’s budget woes and a pending millage increase. What is interesting about our situation is how HB-233, if passed, would affect our tax bills:
The passage of HB-233 (and it seems certain) will result in a higher tax bill for you. Even though the county is expecting minimal growth in the Tax Digest (approximately 1%), even that small increase would have allowed the county to reduce the tax increase by .02 mills. Instead, the owner of a $200,000 home will pay $22 more if HB-233 passes. Because the digest depression is cumulative, HB-233 will cost you even more in 2010.
Are You Ready for Higher Taxes? | TalkGwinnett.com
The following was published in the Douglas County Sentinel this morning. The author, Birney Montcalm, is an appraiser in the Douglas County Assessors’ Office.
As a property tax professional, Montcalm understands what the politicians have yet to be able to grasp– an assessment cap would be completely ineffective and harmful to the property tax system:
Read more…
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