Senate-FAQ on Property Tax Roll Backs-073007

Frequently Asked Questions on Property Tax Roll Backs

1.What is a property tax roll back?

A property tax roll back is when a taxing jurisdiction, such as the county or school district, opts to roll back or lower their property tax rate in order to counter balance large increases in property tax reassessments. State law, known as the Hancock Amendment, limits local governments from allowing growth in property taxes caused by reassessments to 5 percent or the current Consumer Price Index, which is 2.6 percent.

Tax rate ceilings must roll back to make sure taxes caused by reassessment do not increase more than the Hancock Amendment allows. However, some taxing jurisdictions have a tax rate lower than the tax ceiling meaning they are not mandated by law to roll back.

2. What savings do taxpayers gain from a property tax roll back?

The savings a taxpayer can gain from property tax rate roll backs range depending on the taxing jurisdictions and how much they roll back. In the 2005 example of the University City School District, taxpayers saved $109.03 for every $100,000 of assessed value because the district rolled back.

3. What is a taxing jurisdiction?

Taxing jurisdictions include any local government function that you pay property taxes to support. These include the county, cities, school districts, library districts, and fire districts to name a few.

4. How do I know what taxing jurisdictions I live in?

The easiest way to find out what taxing jurisdictions you live in is to look at your property tax bill from 2006. On the right side of your bill you will find a list of all the taxing jurisdictions that you pay a property tax to fund. Once you have identified your local taxing jurisdictions, you will want to reference the tax rate list we’ve compiled and contact your representatives concerning the property tax rate they plan to set for the next year and whether or not it has been rolled back.

Note: If they are at their tax rate ceiling, they must roll back.

5. How do I contact my taxing jurisdictions’ officials?

Once you have identified your local taxing jurisdictions using your 2006 property tax bill, you will want to contact your representative for each of the taxing jurisdictions. The easiest way to track down your representatives is via the internet, however you can use your phone book to find the phone number for each taxing jurisdiction and have them direct you to your representative.

6. Why is it important I contact local officials now?

September is the deadline for all taxing jurisdictions to submit their tax rate for the next year to the county and state auditor’s office. The rate they set will determine the amount of the property tax bill you will get in the mail this fall, making now the time to contact your local officials to encourage them to roll back their tax rates.