Free Republic

California's financial free fall is likely to get much worse before it gets better, spreading from the statehouse to every other level of government, including schools, cities, counties and the special districts that fight fires, maintain parks and levees and run libraries. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers are already grappling with an expected drop in revenue from taxes on personal income, sales and corporate profits. Since they adopted the budget in September, the state's revenue estimate for the current year has dropped by $11 billion, or about 10 percent, with no prospect for a recovery in sight. But that...

For decades, Proposition 13 has been cast as the bane of cash-strapped local government, limiting property tax revenues even as California's housing market soared. But this week, as county assessors reported rising tax bases despite the housing slump, they credited the 30-year-old law -- revealing its unexpected role as an economic stabilizer. Counties across Southern California reported that their overall tax bases grew compared with last year's. The corresponding revenue increase occurred despite falling home prices and even though assessors have reduced the property values on nearly 600,000 homes in five Southland counties in the last few months because of...

MONTGOMERY — In a case that could have far-reaching consequences for Alabama's education and tax system, parents in two Black Belt counties have sued the state in federal court, claiming caps on property taxes are a form of racial discrimination that prevents their children from receiving an adequate education. The plaintiffs in Lynch v. Alabama want the court to suspend the property tax caps in the 1901 constitution and related amendments as violations of the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act. If they win, the governor and Legislature could be forced to draft amendments lifting caps on both millage and assessments....

Jenifer Simpson has lived in Northwest for more than two decades and never thought that her house off Adams Street — with its lace curtains and wreath on the door — looked empty and abandoned. But Mrs. Simpson learned this month that city officials had classified the home as vacant. The result? A $13,000 property tax bill — roughly $11,000 more than the amount she normally pays. "It's kind of insulting to receive a bill for a vacant property in a house you've lived in for 22 years and paid the tax diligently and assiduously," Mrs. Simpson said. "Did they...

Here is thread so far: Jacquerie 01/08/2008 6:55:22 PM EST This morning I asked a simple question regarding the morality of taxing long time residents at a much lower rate than newlyweds. A few replies were thoughtful (thank you), most were laced with schoolyard quality insults (straps) accusing me of being a liberal, of wanting to raise taxes on the elderly, etc. No one could justly rationalize the differential in tax rates. A recent Wall St Journal article noted the statewide decline in school enrollments because families were leaving due in large part to high RE taxes. Our once friendly...

Points to sales tax as reliable, long-term solution to fully fund public education

Montana still relies more heavily than do other states on property taxes for revenue, but the actual tax levels are not abnormally high... Doug Young, professor of economics at MSU-Bozeman, also told a meeting of Montana business and political officials that residential and commercial real estate is shouldering a greater share of the property tax burden in the state. Young spoke in Helena at the annual meeting of the Montana Taxpayers Association, a group that primarily represents business taxpayers. Property taxes account for 37 percent of tax revenue in Montana, while the national average for states is 31 percent... Income,...

Much-touted rate cut has not lowered school taxes bill as much as was hoped. By Jason Embry , Marty Toohey AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Monday, October 22, 2007 In many Central Texas school districts, the tax bill due on an average-value home has decreased 15 percent or less over the past two years. That drop may seem paltry to home-owners who remember that state lawmakers reduced tax rates for school operations 33 percent not too long ago. A variety of factors have blunted the much-ballyhooed rate cut, including rising home values, voter-approved debt to build schools and school boards' decisions to inch...

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson made an appearance at a Property Tax forum at Light of the World Christian Church. The Mayor excused himself to attend a previous engagement - a "interfaith dialogue forum" booked several months earlier. Doesn't it sound weird he would attend an "interfaith dialogue" considering most interfaith activities in Indianapolis are held at THAT VERY SAME CHURCH?!?!? Look at the YouTube video and find out where Mayor Brat REALLY needed to go....

TRENTON, N.J. -- Gov. Jon S. Corzine dubbed the state's new property tax relief program a step toward easing the burden of America's highest property taxes, but applying to get that help is proving a burden to beleaguered Garden State homeowners. "I found it a bit difficult and time consuming,'' said Alice Tulecki of Brick, who is among those who struggled to complete the recently mailed property tax relief application sent by the state to homeowners. Under the new program approved by Corzine and pushed by legislative Democrats, most homeowners will get a check this fall equal to 20 percent...

During its May special session, the Montana Legislature approved a one-time tax rebate of $400 for Montana homeowners proposed by Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Great. Everyone likes money. But unlike the famous Bush administration rebate of 2001, this rebate is not an automatic process, which raises the question: How do I get paid? The reason the process is not so simple is the manner in which Montana property taxes are collected. The law specifies that only primary residences in which the owner lived for at least seven months during 2006 are eligible for the rebate, and according to Montana Department of...

Gov. Bill Ritter signed an embattled property-tax-rate freeze into law Wednesday, a move expected to ignite antitax advocates during the 2008 election cycle. The measure, which halts the lowering of local property tax rates, is projected to create $1.7 billion in new revenues for education over the next decade. Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams has promised to make Senate Bill 199 the centerpiece of his efforts during the 2008 election cycle. Jon Caldara, president of the conservative Independence Institute think tank, told the Associated Press he plans to mount a constitutional challenge to the governor’s mill-levy freeze. He said...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- The average property tax bill in New Jersey topped more than $6,300 last year, a 7 percent hike over what was already the nation's highest property taxes, new state figures show. Gov. Jon S. Corzine and legislators spent five months last year trying to cut property taxes, but the average bill still rose - from $5,914 in 2005 to $6,331 last year, according to numbers compiled by the state Department of Community Affairs. The previous year, the state's property taxes - used to fund most county, municipal and school operations - increased by 7.3 percent. In...

The Assembly has passed a property tax reform measure that would provide property tax cuts in the form of credits. Under the bill almost 2 million homeowners would get help. A 20 percent tax cut would go to households earning up to $100,000, there would be a 15 percent cut for those earning up to $150,000 and a 10 percent cut for those earning up to $250,000. Renters who have received $75 rebates would see relief doubled. Democratic leaders are hailing the legislation as landmark but, some Republicans are questioning the constitutionality of the bill and they've got history to...

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to move ahead with plans to ask voters to approve a new property tax that would raise $50 million to fight an escalating torrent of gang violence. The plan would cost a city property owner $72 per parcel a year, and the money would be used to expand anti-gang and prevention programs that offer everything from gang-intervention workers to the Los Angeles Better Educated Students for Tomorrow after-school project, popularly called LA's BEST. But even as council members voted 13-0 to order that ballot language be drafted, they were divided over whether...

Nassau County Tax Assessor Harvey Levinson is taking a political gamble by questioning a property tax exemption for clergy that they say strips local schools of millions in revenue. Clergy living in private Nassau homes are given major breaks on their property taxes. Levinson says there are hundreds of clergy members paying no school taxes because of the large exemptions. He says these people live in very expensive homes and even quotes one clergy member's house at being worth $2.2 million. That cleric received more than $10,000 in tax savings. Some residents believe it is a political risk to go...

Property tax bills may disappoint October 26, 2006 - Posted at 2:12 a.m. Property tax bills have gone out in the mail this month and anyone expecting to pay less because of the tax relief legislation passed by the Texas Legislature this year might be disappointed. The tax rates remain unchanged for the city of Victoria, county of Victoria and Victoria College. The Victoria Independent School District dropped its rate 12.5 cents for each $100 of property value. But property values set by the Victoria County Appraisal District and used to figure property taxes went up an average of about...

DeStefano calls for the state to issue identification cards as New Haven does Democrat John DeStefano is running for governor. One role the state can play in addressing illegal immigration is to issue ID cards, said New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, the Democratic candidate for governor. "They are a ready victim class. They have no Social Security number so they have no bank account, so they keep a large amount of cash on hand," DeStefano said. "Because of that, they become victims of crimes, but they don't report the crime to police because they are afraid of what will happen."...

Gov. Rick Perry made a stop in Dallas on Monday to announce the creation of a task force he said would attempt to put the brakes on runaway property value increases that are straining family budgets statewide. He called the 15-member Texas Task Force on Appraisal Reform the second phase of his plan to bring property tax relief to Texans that began with a cut in school property tax rates enacted this year. "Now, we have to address the rest of that equation," he said. "This is the second piece of a very complex issue." Former Texas Republican Party Chairman...

SAN DIEGO – An attorney for the city's largest employee union is demanding that the City Council levy a new tax on San Diego property owners to help pay municipal pension obligations. In a letter sent to Mayor Jerry Sanders and the City Council, SDMEA attorney Ann Smith stated that “adding such a 'pension' tax to the city's annual tax levy is not a matter of discretion, but rather a matter of duty, and therefore, enforceable by the courts.” The mayor could not be immediately reached for comment on the letter, which was sent Friday and made public Monday. But...

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry has launched a statewide campaign ad, touting property tax cuts accomplished during the special session that ended last week. The 30-second ad, shot by Weeks & Co., will play in major markets for an undetermined period. Text: (Mr. Perry, standing in front of a frame house with a Texas flag) "A $15 billion property tax cut and more money for schools. We kept our promise to you. The average homeowner will receive a $2,000 tax cut. Every teacher will receive a well-deserved pay raise. We closed corporate loopholes and created new protections to keep taxes...

If you have bought you house(s)/properties outright, with no loans to the bank, and a depression occurs, how do you pay for property taxes - you can't pay with vegitables and the family cow (barter system)? Does anyone have any idea what they did in 1929-32 when they lost their jobs?

Enhanced pension deals are county's albatross... The county has the distinction of carrying more retirees (6,050) than active employees (4,631) on county health insurance. Add in 3,100 spouses and dependents of retirees, and the county is insuring more than 9,000 individuals on the retiree side. The county now pays out more in health care for retirees than for active employees. In addition to her monthly check, she was promised, and cherishes, free health insurance for the rest of her life. It is the sum of such promises to Schumann and 6,000-plus other retirees that is a major stumbling block as...

ANNAPOLIS -- Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. yesterday won approval for an election-year cut in the state property-tax rate. In a 2-1 vote, the state Board of Public Works approved a 2-cent reduction of the property-tax rate, to 11.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. The board consists of the governor, Comptroller William Donald Schaefer and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp.

City officials use fanciful arguments to explain why, say, a Costco is a public purpose because it brings in more tax revenue than the neighborhood that was there before it. With that simple twist of a phrase, essential constitutional property protections have been obliterated. You might own a small warehouse, but a developer wants to build a new high rise on the site. The government will come in and offer you the value of the warehouse (and will usually lowball the price and often force you to go to court to get a higher price, where you will pay your...

Just hours after taxpayer Dave Robinson filed suit against Jon Corzine, the Governor agrees to voluntarily do what the legal action is seeking. On behalf of his client attorney Mark Sheridan has filed suit in Trenton Superior Court against Governor Jon Corzine and State Treasurer Brad Abelow cliaming the Administration planned to continue to "unconstitutionally and illegally" send out millions in taxpayer dollars. $40 million was originally appropriated by the Legislature in Fiscal Year 2006 and even more the year before to "Property Tax Assistance and Community Development Block Grants" under control of the State Treasurer. The legal action asks...

VALPARAISO, Indiana (AP) -- A house estimated to be worth $121,900 was erroneously valued at $400 million.Now officials say the glitch has resulted in budget shortfalls, and could lead to possible layoffs in municipalities and school districts.<snip>County Treasurer Jim Murphy said the home usually carried about $1,500 in property taxes; this year, the owner was billed $8 million.<snip>Lippens said her agency identified the mistake and told the county auditor's office how to correct it. But the $400 million value ended up on documents that were used to calculate tax rates.<snip>Most local officials did not learn about the mistake until Tuesday,...

VALPARAISO, Ind. - A house erroneously valued at $400 million is being blamed for budget shortfalls and possible layoffs in municipalities and school districts in northwest Indiana. An outside user of Porter County's computer system may have triggered the mess by accidentally changing the value of the Valparaiso house, said Sharon Lippens, director of the county's information technologies and service department. The house had been valued at $121,900 before the glitch. County Treasurer Jim Murphy said the home usually carried about $1,500 in property taxes; this year, it was billed $8 million. The homeowner, Dennis Charnetzky, declined to comment about...

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 27 —Ladera Heights is a place that some black Angelenos aspire to and others scoff at. Skip to next paragraph Monica Almeida/The New York Times Alisa Ivie looking at the homework of her children, Joshua, 11, and Jessica, 6, at their home in Ladera Heights, near Los Angeles. It is a choice hilltop neighborhood filled with spacious houses, well-trimmed shrubbery and city and ocean views. Home to many African-American doctors, lawyers, teachers and other professionals, the community is sometimes called "the black Beverly Hills." But community leaders say just one thing is missing, decent public schools, and...

The longest-tenured city manager in Galveston County is resigning. Friendswood officials confirmed Wednesday that Ronald Cox would step down in April after years on the job. Cox met Friendswood Mayor Kimball Brizendine last week to inform him of his plan to resign. “It was a surprise to all of us,” said Brizendine. “We’ve been blessed to have had him for the last 15 years.” Cox shared the news with the city council in an executive session Monday and his resignation was announced to city employees Tuesday. The mayor said Cox would pursue opportunities as a private consultant for cities across...

Texas Supreme Court Strikes Down Texas School Finance System News Conference at 1 p.m. CST DALLAS, Nov. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Texas Supreme Court today struck down the state's school finance system, finding that it has evolved into an unconstitutional state property tax. The complete ruling can be found at: http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/Historical/112205.asp. A telephonic news conference hosted by lawyers for the West Orange-Cove Plaintiffs will be begin promptly at 1 p.m. CST. To join the news conference, dial 1-888-896-0863 and ask for the Texas school finance conference (reference no. 6760062) about 10 minutes before the beginning of the conference. The operator...

The one-room cabin David Bischoff built in a cow pasture three years ago has no electricity, no running water, no phone service and no driveway. What it does have is a wide-open view of nearby hills and distant mountains _ which makes it seven times more valuable than if it had no view, according to the latest townwide property assessment. He expects his property taxes to shoot up accordingly. Bischoff and other Orford residents bitterly call that a "view tax," and they are leading a revolt against it that has gained support in many rural towns in New Hampshire. State...

The one-room cabin David Bischoff built in a cow pasture three years ago has no electricity, no running water, no phone service and no driveway. What it does have is a wide-open view of nearby hills and distant mountains _ which makes it seven times more valuable than if it had no view, according to the latest townwide property assessment. He expects his property taxes to shoot up accordingly. Bischoff and other Orford residents bitterly call that a "view tax," and they are leading a revolt against it that has gained support in many rural towns in New Hampshire.

These two shotgun doubles are owned by Carrollton area landlord Christian Hooper, who.. has donated more than $7,000 to assessor Henry Heaton's campaign fund. The houses are valued by Heaton at a total of $12,000, or $6,000 apiece, about half the value he assigned to this blighted vacant lot on Hollygrove Street. A restored two-story home in the French Quarter was owned by late real-estate agent Phil Begue, a donor to Assessor Claude Mauberret's campaign fund. It is valued at $116,000, about the same amount Mauberret assigned to this Lakeview cottage. This large, modern home in Lakewood South is valued...

While the average New Orleans homeowner enjoys a low property tax assessment, a select group of locals gets an even larger break: the people who donate to the assessors' campaigns. Campaign donors' properties are more than twice as likely as those of nondonors to be valued by assessors at less than their most recent sales price. Slightly more than half of the donor-owned properties examined by the newspaper were assessed for less than their owners paid for them. By comparison, one in five homes overall is assessed for less than its most recent sales price. For example, former Saints quarterback...

Logic might dictate that the politicians who spend money generated by New Orleans property taxes would be among those pushing the city's seven assessors to be more aggressive in keeping appraisals in stride with rising property values. But rarely is a peep about lax valuation practices heard from members of the School Board or City Council. Although there's no evidence that politicians have sought special treatment, a review commissioned by The Times-Picayune suggests they're getting it anyway. While the average New Orleanian's home was worth 70 percent more than the appraisal reflected on the 2003 tax rolls, the average politician's...

weegee note: Despite all claims to the contrary by the author, this is a hit piece on restauranteur/talk show host Edd Hendee. If the steak house is so old and unremarkable, why even cover it? If his politics are irrelevant (which they are) and not a factor in his critique, why get so venemous? What a *********. Note there was a considerable wait to get in. To quote Yogi Berra, "That place is so crowded that nobody goes there anymore." on with the article... Past Its Prime - Taste of Texas Steakhouse takes you on a nostalgia trip to the...

The tax revenue windfall. For local government officials, it is the major topic of conversation. They are delighted that the hot real-estate market is providing billions of additional dollars to county coffers around the state. For Los Angeles, it represents a cool $1 billion in new revenue, a nearly 10 percent increase over last year. San Bernardino County anticipates its tax receipts to double to about $320 million. However, you'll have to pardon us if we don't join the celebration just yet. The last time we saw government officials so excited was in the late 1990s after Gray Davis took...

Homeowners would be hit with a $150 annual "parcel tax" to help fund Los Angeles public schools -- on top of the hundreds of dollars they already pay annually for construction -- under a proposal introduced Tuesday. Under the draft plan, the tax would be in effect for six years, and the funds would be intended for use to reduce class sizes, improve libraries, bolster campus safety and provide more nurses and counselors. The proposal would be the first time the Los Angeles Unified School District would ask voters to approve such a fee and comes as the nation's second-largest...

Be Wary of Proposed Split Roll Property Tax Change to Prop. 13 Written by Wayne Lusvardi Monday, June 06, 2005 - ChronWatch.com Californians should be wary of a ballot-initiative now being circulated for the June 2006 election that would split in two the State property tax protections of Proposition 13. The California Tax Fairness Act would split the property tax rolls into two separate rates – one for homeowners who would retain Proposition 13 "locked-in" tax rates; and another for commercial property owners (e.g., businesses, stores, industrial land owners) whose taxes would be based on annually reassessed property values. Proposition...

As a longtime observer of government, I've come to realize that no matter how much public money one gives to any government agency or group of government workers, it will absolutely, positively not be enough. The unions representing the agency's workers will always cry poor-mouth, always find ways to shake down the taxpayer for more money. California's public school system consumes more than 40 percent of the budget, guaranteed by constitutional decree, and the governor's budget would increase educationspending by more than 7 percent, yet we've all witnessed the California Teachers Association and its unceasing anti-Arnold rallies and overheated "you're...

This is an Excel Spreadsheet to help fight high property tax appraisals. Download and share. THANKS ED.

HB3 passes without statewide property tax Senate also includes sales-tax holiday, options on business tax By Jason Embry AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, May 11, 2005 The Senate at about 2 a.m. today approved a major shift in state taxes, but only after changing two key components of the bill. Senators approved House Bill 3, which cuts school property taxes while raising consumption and business taxes with a 21-10 vote. Today they’ll take up the second half of school finance reform, House Bill 2, which rewrites the formulas used to determine school funding, increases teacher pay and toughens regulations on charter schools...

May 8, 2005 — Brazilians, Central Americans and others are expected to overtake Mexican nationals as the largest group of undocumented immigrants entering the Rio Grande Valley. Although some federal authorities said the demographic shift has already happened, figures given to The Brownsville Herald this month show the number of OTM (Other Than Mexicans) immigrants detained in Deep South Texas has exploded in the last two years but remains slightly behind the number of Mexican nationals.

Senators weigh whether locally approved breaks should survive statewide tax By Jason Embry AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Thursday, May 5, 2005 Property tax exemptions that senior citizens and other residents receive in many school districts could be wiped away under the Senate's tax proposals, leaving many Texans with far smaller tax breaks than advertised. Seniors in Austin and residents of the Lago Vista and Lake Travis school districts -- as well as Dallas and Houston -- currently receive those exemptions. They come on top of standard statewide exemptions that remove a portion of a home's appraised value from the tax rolls. The...

Dramatic differences emerge leading to lively exchanges Four candidates are running to shape the future of Friendswood. Running for Position 2 are Lonnie Moffitt and John LeCour. Contestants for Position 5 are Kitten Brizendine and Chris Peden. All candidates’ positions were stated at the well attended forum at Village on the Park Friday, April 15. Fifteen issues, raised by the audience, were addressed. The program provided concise, descriptive statements of their positions showing sharp differences between various candidates’ liberal and conservative positions. The issues soliciting the most divergent opinions were taxes, City-funded development, zero-based budgeting, and the candidates’ vision for...

I got this email from the Schundler campaign today. I love what Bret is doing...Take an issue and try to fix it before he is elected...What a novel idea. Campaign promise paid up before election day. New Jersey Property Tax Overpayment Notice Dear Larry, According to our records your family is being over-taxed for the property listed above, and many of the NJ elected officials in office now don’t care. AND, it’s not only you. Millions of NJ taxpayers have been overpaying for years, and state politicians have done nothing about it. I am not waiting to be elected; New...

Millage for survival? Districts' officials say they are trying to buy time for revamping of school funding Friday, March 25, 2005 BY LISA CAROLIN News Staff Reporter Officially, the 3-mill school tax levy that Livingston County voters will decide May 3 is called an enhancement millage. If approved, an additional $19.767 million will be spread among the county's five public school districts to help pay for operations. But school officials call it a survival millage. They argue that the three-year levy will allow the current educational program to survive another three years. They hope that will be long enough for...

73 Pantywaisted Texas House members voted to approve HB3 on Monday night, March 13. HB3 hits small businesses and regular citizens with new and increased taxes The Republicans have charge of the Texas Legislature for the first time in a century and they voted for a HUGE NEW tax!! What are they thinking??!! I am asking all citizens to send the Republicans (and Dems too if you want) who voted for the tax a pair of PANTIES since they proved they are sissies! (You can buy a yellow pair at Walmart for 88 cents.) Send the panties to as many...

GALVESTON — County leaders on Monday backed legislative proposals to curb property appraisal increases, but added a condition of their own. County Judge Jim Yarbrough proposed an amendment to ask state lawmakers to stop handing down unfunded mandates if they’re going to hinder the county’s ability to raise revenue. Several bills before the Legislature would lower the cap on homestead appraisals from 10 percent to 3 percent or 5 percent. Commissioner Ken Clark, the sole Republican on the commissioners court, proposed the resolution. It calls for support of a 3 percent cap on homestead appraisals. The cities of Bayou Vista,...