“Commissioners pass property tax opt out: Murders, flooding combined with slowing of economy blamed” plus 3 more |
- Commissioners pass property tax opt out: Murders, flooding combined with slowing of economy blamed
- Martin County property tax rate proposal increase would raise homeowner's bill about $70
- Property tax relief drive stalls - From the Poughkeepsie Journal
- Russian Property Funds May Lose Tax Breaks,
| Commissioners pass property tax opt out: Murders, flooding combined with slowing of economy blamed Posted: 19 Jul 2010 06:29 AM PDT A property tax opt out passed by Beadle County commissioners will raise another $300,000 in each of the next two years and enable the board to balance its budget without deeper cuts, the chairman said. Even with the extra funding, Dick Werner said the commission will only be budgeting for the bare minimum. Most of the countys spending each year is for road maintenance and public protection. Commissioners have also had to deal with major flooding problems and with unforeseen expenses due to half a dozen homicides. In two of the six criminal cases, the countys expenses due to court-appointed attorney fees and other costs was $192,000. Commissioners have heard from residents who have said the board shouldnt spend any more than it takes in. Thats easy to say and difficult to do during extraordinary times. Not only have there been flooding and high-profile court cases, the state and country are still reeling from the recession. A lack of funding forced commissioners to cut their support to 17 local agencies in their 2010 budget. Without the opt out, the other five agencies are at risk of losing county funds. Weve cut everything to the bone and now were probably cutting into the bone, Werner said. Commissioners believe they would be irresponsible if they didnt approve the opt out, he said. On a piece of property valued at $100,000, the owner will pay about another $27 a year in taxes with the opt out. But Werner said 17.1 percent of the assessed valuation of property in Beadle County is owned by people who live outside the county. That means about $50,000 of the $300,000 opt outs in 2011 and 2012 will be paid by nonresidents. It includes out-of-state corporations like Walmart which have businesses in the county. I think thats the telling point, if anything, Werner said. Seventeen percent of it is paid by people not living here. Six weeks ago, the countys proposal to double the vehicle wheel tax in order to raise another $200,000 annually for county and township roads was defeated, the third time voters said no to the increased tax in the last 12 years. Opponents said the tax would be perpetual and that many residents dont use county and township roads. Many said they would not oppose an opt out of the property tax freeze. Unlike the wheel tax, an opt out has a time limit two years in this case and means all property owners, those living in the county and those not, will pay. Commissioners had to make a decision on an opt out by July 15. It wont go on the ballot unless its referred by the public within 20 days of Wednesdays public notice in the county newspapers. If it is referred, the election would have to be a special one, and held prior to Oct. 1. The countys 2011 budget must be finished by Sept. 30. Taxpayers were also notified last week that they can expect a refund on excess taxes they paid in 2009 for the school districts middle school bond redemption issue. In total, taxpayers paid nearly $900,000 too much, and that will be returned to them along with about $30,000 in interest earnings. Werner said the numbers are being calculated and more information will be available in a few weeks. As for the high costs counties incur due to major criminal cases such as those for homicide, commissions can submit requests for help from a catastrophic fund established by South Dakota counties through their association whenever the bill for an individual case tops $25,000. But counties must also pay into the fund each year. They receive 50 cents on the dollar in reimbursement, but it means Beadle County has $100,000 in court expenses it never budgeted for. You cant plan for these, Werner said. Also, at one point earlier this summer more than half of the county roads were closed due to high water. Federal and state funds will help pay the bills later, but in the meantime the county must find the money. For the complete article see the 07-18-2010 issue. Click here to purchase an electronic version of the 07-18-2010 paper. Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| Martin County property tax rate proposal increase would raise homeowner's bill about $70 Posted: 19 Jul 2010 08:46 AM PDT STUART — A proposal to raise the Martin County property tax rate by nearly 47 cents per $1,000 of assessed value would increase the county tax bill of the average homeowner by about $70, county officials said Monday. Acting County Administrator Taryn Kryzda said she added about 3 cents to her initial property tax rate proposal of June 22 because the final tax roll of July 1 was a little lower than the preliminary figure of June 1. As a result, the owner of an typical home in unincorporated Martin County — which has an assessed value of $200,000 and taking into account the $50,000 homestead exemption — would have a county tax bill of $1,195. If the commissioners keep the same tax rate as the current year, the typical homeowner would have a county tax bill of $1,125, county records show. But Kryzda said longtime homeowners with a homestead exemption will face a 2.7 percent increase in their assessed value, which factors into the property tax calculation along with the tax rate. Commissioner Susan Valliere asked when the property tax rate would be final, in case the commission wants to keep the same tax rate as the 2010 budget year: $7.5036 per $1,000 of assessed value. Kryzda said everything is on the table until the commission sets the tentative property tax rate, which is expected to happen late Tuesday or Wednesday. Another $7 million in spending reductions would be needed to keep the property tax rate at the 2010 level. Proposed 2011 Martin County budget: $335,684,161 Total 2010 Martin County budget: $344,545,384 Decrease: $8,861,223, or about 2.6 percent Proposed 2011 Martin County property tax rate: $7.9693 Adopted 2010 Martin County property tax rate: $7.5036 Increase: 46.57 cents or about 5.8 percent Property tax bill for average home in unincorporated Martin County in 2010: $1,125 Property tax bill for average home in unincorporated Martin County in 2011: $1,195 Increase: $70, or about 6.2 percent Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| Property tax relief drive stalls - From the Poughkeepsie Journal Posted: 19 Jul 2010 12:12 AM PDT ALBANY — There is no relief in store for beleaguered New York property owners after state leaders failed this year to produce a plan to control the highest taxes in the country. That's disheartening to taxpayers like Judith Gustafson. The Ulster County resident and retiree, who is the chairwoman of a property-tax reform task force, said it was "extremely disappointing" that a year spent lobbying for lower or stable taxes has resulted in zero action. "The momentum is not there except in pockets of the Legislature," Gustafson said. "We will continue to push for this, but whether it's going to happen in the next budget is uncertain too." Gustafson, who pays about $8,000 a year in school and local property taxes, supports the "circuit-breaker" solution, which would tie property taxes to a household's income. The state's property tax burden is usually ranked the highest in the country each year, even as home values plummet during the recession. But despite multiple plans to solve the problem, and expressed support from voters and politicians for some form of property-tax relief during a historic economic downturn, the Legislature failed to approve any of them this legislative session. The problem, believes E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, is that no one in Albany can agree on a specific plan. "The main reason is there's no broad agreement on what property-tax relief actually means and there's no real interest in getting it done," McMahon said. McMahon said a fair solution would be to cap property tax increases annually. "A tax cap is the one form of tax relief that goes to everyone," he said. "Real tax relief requires real expenditure restraint." Groups like Unshackle Upstate, which seeks a more business-friendly economic climate for New York, have called for a 2.5 percent annual cap on property-tax increases. Voters in local elections would be allowed to lift the cap temporarily in order to pay for a project. "Unfortunately, no one has picked it up," said Brian Sampson, the group's executive director. Five Filters featured article: Headshot - Propaganda, State Religion and the Attack On the Gaza Peace Flotilla. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | |
| Russian Property Funds May Lose Tax Breaks, Posted: 19 Jul 2010 03:37 AM PDT | Russian Property Funds May Lose Tax Breaks,
by Tatiana Smolenskaya, Tax-News.com, Moscow
The Russian finance ministry wants to amend the tax code and property laws to remove tax breaks enjoyed by closed-end mutual property funds. It is thought that the government is ready to introduce a property tax for real estate funds and "rent FTRA" property funds", with the decision on the exact rates of tax to be left to the regional authorities, after consultations with federal agencies. More precise details were not forthcoming. Concessions on property tax and deferred income tax may be removed as a result. The framework for Russia's equivalent of REITs was introduced through legislation in 2003, but these real estate funds, also called PIFs (mutual investment funds) cannot be listed directly, but must be sponsored by another company — a property manager. Most real estate investments in Russia are currently corporate, not fund-based, which means that shareholders are required to pay both a corporate tax and a tax on earnings. The funds are not legal entities, but trusts monitored by the Federal Financial Markets Service, FFMS, which regulates financial markets and securities sales. In all, there are over 600 such funds listed by the FFMS on its online register. It is hoped that this and the basic tax breaks would boost the industry, but there are now fears that the proposed legislation could nip the market for this asset class in the bud. .
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