MillageRate.com

Suwanee, GA (Gwinnett County) leaders are boasting about the recent confirmation of their AA-minus bond rating by Fitch Ratings. Knowing what we do about Suwanee’s property taxation practices, we looked at their tax rates for the past five years.

What we found surprised and disappointed us—as the city’s debt millage decreased each year, the City Council arbitrarily increased the M&O millage rate to maintain the same overall rate… apparently with no consideration for the actual cost of government for its property owners:

As you, the Suwanee property owner, paid down the public debt, your tax rate should have decreased accordingly; at least, as long as the City Council held the line on the cost of government. Instead, city leaders maintained the same arbitrary total rate and, in essence, rolled your overpayment into M&O. They have essentially used the decrease in the city’s debt responsibilities to fund increases in the cost of government.

Bragging Rights or Just Overtaxation in Suwanee? | TalkGwinnett.com (Article archived. For a 2010 update on Suwanee’s property tax, click here.)

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