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Property tax law has a logic all its own. You’ll find that in nearly every US jurisdiction assessed value is a percentage of market value, often a very small o

Property tax law has a logic all its own. You’ll find that in nearly every US jurisdiction assessed value is a percentage of market value, often a very small one. Saying it makes no sense is tilting at windmills, it’s just one of hundreds of legal fictions that sound silly out of the context they developed in. For example, most deeds to property identify the purchase price as “one dollar and other good and valuable consideration“, whatever the actual price was. The important thing here is the injustice that was done to these people and the city’s refusal to make it right.

deleted 5y ago
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brianwawok 5y ago
My property here is accessed at roughly market value. Partially because my state has the following law in the constitution > Indiana property tax caps limit the amount of property taxes to 1% of property values for homesteads (owner-occupied), 2% for other residential property and farmland, and 3% for all other property Previous places I have lived without this law, things worked differently.
antisthenes 5y ago
> You’ll find that in nearly every US jurisdiction assessed value is a percentage of market value, often a very small one. That's definitely not the case in my municipality (North-East USA). Tax assessments are as close to market value as you can get, considering that they are only being appraised every 5 years (I think, it may be 3 years). So there's obviously some lag if the market booms or busts. But overall it's pretty damn close to market prices and averages out over the long term.
- np_tedious 5y ago
  I am also in the northeast and my assessed value is under 1% of actual market value. https://www.tax.ny.gov/research/property/equal/rar/index.htm https://www.tax.ny.gov/research/property/equal/rar/index.htm There are also many firms to dispute your assessment and lower your property tax bill. They do aggressive mass mailing and are able to claim very specific reductions. They then take a percentage (usually half) of first year savings.

deleted 5y ago

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brianwawok 5y ago

My property here is accessed at roughly market value. Partially because my state has the following law in the constitution > Indiana property tax caps limit the amount of property taxes to 1% of property values for homesteads (owner-occupied), 2% for other residential property and farmland, and 3% for all other property Previous places I have lived without this law, things worked differently.

antisthenes 5y ago

> You’ll find that in nearly every US jurisdiction assessed value is a percentage of market value, often a very small one. That's definitely not the case in my municipality (North-East USA). Tax assessments are as close to market value as you can get, considering that they are only being appraised every 5 years (I think, it may be 3 years). So there's obviously some lag if the market booms or busts. But overall it's pretty damn close to market prices and averages out over the long term.

np_tedious 5y ago
I am also in the northeast and my assessed value is under 1% of actual market value. https://www.tax.ny.gov/research/property/equal/rar/index.htm https://www.tax.ny.gov/research/property/equal/rar/index.htm There are also many firms to dispute your assessment and lower your property tax bill. They do aggressive mass mailing and are able to claim very specific reductions. They then take a percentage (usually half) of first year savings.