Let me start this by saying I completely agree with Hammer on this issue.  When my property value increases, my property taxes increase, proportionately [allegedly].  Why is it that when my property value goes down, my property taxes don’t also go down?  Or as Hammer puts it,

Property taxes..yeah they pay for public schools and other various socialist indoctrination /FEMA death camps. I’ve been paying about $5000 per year based on the value of my home and property…it’s about a third of my house payment. Ok fine I’ve grabbed my ankles and paid it all these years. So the bottom falls out of the housing market, my home is worth half what it was 2 years ago..so why have my taxes not gone down to reflect this? So I lose a huge chunk of my net worth and the government keeps taxing me like I still have it….I call complete and utter BULLSHIT!

via When your only tool is a hammer….

Here in NC, there was a great big fuss in the affluent (and very liberal) college town of Chapel Hill (home of UNC).  There was even a Tea Party over the issue.  It seems that the recent reassessment by the County resulted in an INCREASE in property value, at a time when the bottom is falling out of the market in general and property values are actually declining.

On April 15, hundreds of Orange County residents gathered in downtown Hillsborough to revisit the Sons of Liberty with a ceremonial emptying of bottled tea on the courthouse lawn. It was the latest in a succession of local protests sparked by the 2008 Orange County property revaluations, which, despite the tepid national housing market, raised the average county home’s taxable value by nearly 25 percent. [emphasis mine] Though the Orange County Board of Commissioners has been adamant that it will maintain a “revenue neutral” tax structure, many homeowners will likely see significant increases in next year’s tax bill.

That had many of the tea party’s attendees steaming. At the rally, hundreds of residents gathered to wave signs, listen to speakers and attack all forms of “big government,” from the county board all the way up to the bank bailout. Former Raleigh Mayor Tom Fetzer, a candidate for the chairmanship of the state G.O.P., railed against big spenders in Hillsborough, Raleigh and Washington, claiming a need for a new revolution in American government. Former Orange County Commissioner Ben Lloyd, a Democrat, blasted the county’s leadership for profligate spending on unnecessary projects which he said led directly to the looming property tax increase.

“Where is the money supposed to come from?” he said. “[It’s] coming from the money tree which happens to be your pocketbook.”

The “Orange Tax Revolt,” as the movement is known, started early this year, after the county announced the results of its property revaluations, which occur every four years.

Via Indyweek.com

There has been no reassessment in Lee County (where I live).  I do know that the value of my property has decreased, although possibly not as much as in other parts of the state, due to the current economic climate.  But will I see a decrease in my property taxes?  Yeah, when donkeys nest in the trees.

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