Property Tax in your state

[IPDBrad]

A big controversy erupted this year in Indiana, when the new property tax reassessment came out.

In a nutshell, Township assessors place a value on each home, then a portion of that value is assessed for tax purposes (I think they credit each home something like 32,000--thus the more expensive the home the lower the credit is as a % of the home value).

This has created a huge controversey as older homes have seen their taxes increase by huge margins, as they were being undervalued.

I have heard other states base the property tax on a market value, what does your state do?

My thought is that the property tax should be bases on build or purchase price and should be frozen until a new homeowner purchases the property. Then the tax would be based on the new purchase price. Thus, the homeowner knows what taxes will be paid, and can budget for it without any surprises. The tax would thus be fixed for the current homeowner.

Some people argue that if someone has a home that has doubled in value they should pay the extra tax, however, I feel this is inherently unfair as they aren't making any money on the increase in their investment until they sell.

[6233108]

Our state gives the power to the county government in Ohio. We get an county appraisal every three years and don't you know it get more valueable every three years. Mine went up $33,000 from 2003 to 2004, my neighbors sold their homes for $310,000 and $292,000 respectively. My house is the beater of the street though, a fixer upper in a great neighborhood. My yearly property tax has gone from $4,800 a year to $5,300.

[retdetsgt]

In Oregon, it's based on the market value of the house. Oregon doesn't have a sales tax so income and property taxes are all they have. The property tax got so bad here that some rather draconian tax limitations initiatvies were passed. Unfortunately, instead of local governments reducing spending, they started taxing business and manufactoring. Hence Oregon has one of the highest unemployment rates in the US. Businesses have fled here like mad to more tax friendly states like Texas.

Our tax structure is a mess here now. It needs to be erased and something totally different put in its place. People here though are fanatically against a sales tax of any kind, so I doubt anything with that in it will ever pass.

[Pigeon]

I thought mine was bad at $2,700. I bought it four years ago. It doesn't have have a swimming pool but does have air conditioning, a back yard and 3 bedrooms. I'm sure I could sell it at a profit and if I did the taxes would go up for the new owner. But I don't want to move.