MillageRate.com

Property tax bills are hitting mailboxes across the state. For many Georgia homeowners, those bills are higher than they have to be.

A deficiency in Georgia’s property tax law allows taxing authorities to adopt any tax rate they choose, regardless of actual budget needs. Across the state, many Georgia cities, counties and school boards take advantage of this loophole to overtax property owners, in some areas by significant amounts.

There is only one correct way to calculate the millage rate, which is the multiplier that is applied to the value of your property to generate the tax dollars needed to fully fund the jurisdiction’s budget. To calculate the rate correctly, elected officials should divide the portion of the budget to be funded by property tax dollars by the Net Tax Digest, which is the total taxable value of all property within the city’s or county’s limits.

This simple procedure is taught by the state Department of Revenue to county tax commissioners, appraisers and assessors as well as Board of Equalization members. Newly-elected city council members, county commissioners and school board members-the people who actually adopt the rate-do not receive the same training.

Because there is no law requiring them to “do the math” and few understand the process, elected officials often adopt the highest rate that you will accept. Taxpayers often complain about “high taxes,” but few understand the primary cause of most overtaxation in Georgia-mathematically incorrect millage rates.

Because most state legislators do not understand the calculation, the efforts to control rising tax bills to date have been misguided, ineffective and, in some cases, counter-productive.

The “Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights” was enacted in 2000 to prevent “back door” tax increases as a result of rising property values. Not only does the law fail to protect taxpayers, but it allows taxing authorities to hide continued overtaxation.

Likewise, value offset exemptions, constitutional amendments to cap property reassessments and the popular tax assessment “freezes” will fail to reduce individual tax bills. It is mathematically provable that such laws are doomed to failure.

The only legal way to ensure that the benefit of a growing tax digest is passed to the taxpayer in the form of a lower millage rate-and, thereby, lower tax bills-is to require cities, counties and school boards to simply “do the math.”

In the first year after the law’s enactment, a majority of Georgia’s property owners will receive an immediate tax cut. Thereafter, they will pay no more and no less than required to fund the cost of local government. In addition, mathematical millage forces elected officials to hold down the cost of government or, at the very least, identify additional non-tax revenue sources.

Among other immediate and long-term benefits, honesty is promoted in the property taxation process.

MillageRate.com is a “grass roots” effort promoting legislation to require taxing authorities to adopt mathematically correct millage rates. For more information on how to calculate the rate, a discussion of the benefits of the proposed law, and analyses of the rates of taxing authorities from across the state, please visit www.millagerate.com, and then contact your state legislator to encourage him/her to support this important legislation.

Bob Griggs is an Internet publisher and founder of MillageRate.com. Bob received his training on property tax issues from the Georgia Department of Revenue as the Chairman of a county Board of Equalization. He can be contacted at bobg@millagerate.com or 770-713-8070.

Cross-posted at BobGriggs.com.