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 sent to members of the Georgia State Senate this morning as they prepare to consider HB-233 this week:
DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER….
… if you are a Republican who is a “team player,” whether or not “the team” is RIGHT OR WRONG…
… if you will not vote your conscience (or your intelligence) because it might cost you that plum committee appointment…
… if you really DON’T CARE whether or not the legislation you support actually DOES what it is supposed to do, or might even cause MORE HARM than good…
… if you have NO CLUE and do not care to know THE TRUTH about HB-233.
Read more…
“Georgia Legislative Watch” has graciously published our extensive commentary on the problems with HR-1, HB-233 and assessment caps in general. If you are interested the Georgia legislative process, check out this site.
The cure for “back door tax increases” is simple– require cities, counties and school boards to DO THE MATH. Doing so would remove a variable– the millage rate– from the control of local officials. No longer could they hide increases in the cost of government by maintaining an already inflated millage rate from year to year. No longer could they benefit from the windfall generated by rising assessments even when they don’t “raise taxes.”
Georgia Legislative Watch » COMMENTARY: Property tax issue dissected
The following was written in response to Senator Chip Rogers’ 2/13/09 article for the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, “Count on Tax Assessment Caps to Offer Property Owners Accountability:”
Senator Rogers is wrong when he writes that assessment caps are the best way to impose accountability on local officials.
First, there can be no real accountability resulting from an assessment cap because of the primary flaw in the tax law– a City Council, County Commission or School Board can currently adopt any millage rate that it chooses. There is no law that requires them to adopt a tax rate that has any connection to the cost of government. As a consequence, many adopt a tax rate that takes more from property owners than is required to fund government services. And the overtaxation happens even when the millage rate remains the same from year to year. Read more…
Tags: assessment cap, assessment freeze, back door tax increase, chip rogers, georgia property taxes, georgia public policy foundation, government accountability, HB-233, house bill 233, HR-1, millage rate
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