Fairfax County VA where I live has an annual assessment program, and our property assessment dropped around 10% from last year. The county-wide average drop was around 15% if I recall correctly, but our neighborhood held up better than areas of townhouses and the like.
The County Board of Supervisors, seeing that the average assessment dropped 15% promptly increased the tax rate by 15% or so, thereby maintaining the same revenue from property tax. The result is that we see a 5% increase in 2009 tax dollars we must pay compared with 2008.
Other tax revenue dropped for the county (the county percentage of sales tax, for example) so I suppose we peasants should be grateful that our lords and masters in the Fairfax County offices didn’t try to make up all the revenue shortfall with property tax increases.
Jack
I noticed that myself. My assessed value dropped around 18%. Weeks later, I see the new female Gerry Connolly is trumpeting tax increases - but it’s OK, since “homeowners won’t pay more taxes.” Yes, thank you for taking away the ONE upside to plummeting property values.
They use scare tactics, like we need to fund our schools, we need to fund our sherriff, we need to fund our tourism depts. etc.
I argued (at the hearing) that a responsive government would maintain the tax rate (thus lowered tax) and reduce spending like the rest of us.
But arrogance and the employ of emotional appeal prevails in government, locally and of course, nationally.
And it gets much scarier.
No one on this website, or anywhere, absolutely owns their home, regardless of the bank obligation. You own it in "partnership" with the government. Just try not to pay property tax and see who owns your house.
Consequently as the real value of one's home falls, and the government retains or increases the tax obligation, the equity portion (e.g. monthly obligation) assigned to the government increases, with police authority. So the extrapolated extreme is in effect, dare we say it, communism. The government garnishes your income to give you housing. This is even more insidious as government imposed land use and property restrictions increase. The government garnishes your income to give you housing of its determination.
There is obviously a middle ground concession, e.g. public facilities, but have we, in general, lost the judgement and spirit to limit it?
"The primary intent of Communism is abolition of private property." - Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto (2nd Chapter I think).
Here in Arizona (and probably elsewhere) they play the same game with Senior exemptions. Only the increase in value is protected, not the rate. So . . .every year my taxes go up regardless of the economic condition of the area.
They’re not dumb. It is a racket and they’re the mafia.