I read an article in USA Today.  The Headline was "Property taxes up as house prices fall."  I knew there was something wrong as soon as I read the headline.  Sure enough, the whole concept of the article makes no sense.  It contradicts itself.

The point of the article is that, in most places, homes are assessed for tax purposes at LESS than their market value.  So, homeowners are generally getting a good deal on their property taxes.  That is, they get a break, since the tax is calculated on an amount that is smaller than what the house is actually worth.  So what's the problem?

The article doesn't get around to actually saying it until the eight paragraph, but there isn't really a problem.  It's a good thing for taxpayers when governments limit property tax increases in times of rapidly growing property values.  And, even if property taxes do increase at some point to catch up with market values, property owners have benefited from lower taxes all along.  Taxpayers would pay MORE if governments didn't use such methods.

Here's the link:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2007-04-24-property-tax_N.htm?csp=34#uslPageReturn

 

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