Welcome to property taxes Guide
Taxes On Property Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
You may also listen to this article by using the following controls.
What Do My Property Taxes Fund?
from:Nobody likes to pay taxes, and it seems we pay so many different kinds of taxes for so many different things. One of our largest tax bills each year is often for property taxes, those pesky once a year taxes we pay on our homes and land. Have you ever wondered just what your property taxes fund? Well, it does vary by location, but in general your taxes are used to fund your local county budget. In fact in most cases, about 80% of a county’s budget is funded by property taxes. This budget typically pays for:
• Police and Fire Support – Your county budget pays for county sheriff services and fire departments, providing necessary community help and protection.
• Roads – In most cases, many of the roads located in a county are maintained by that county. Interstates are typically maintained through the state’s budget, but those local roads are maintained locally.
• Education – Much of the budget that your local schools operate from comes from the county government, which is funded by property taxes. Teachers’ salaries, building maintenance, bus maintenance and many special programs are paid for by your property taxes. However, there are typically some school budget items and programs that are funded at the state level.
• Local Government – Your local county government is, of course, run on the local budget. This means that everything from the salaries of your county commissioners to the electric bill for the county offices is paid from this local budget funded by your property taxes.
So, as you can see, while property taxes are no fun to pay, they serve a useful purpose. We all use the services funded by our property taxes on a daily basis, so the funds to provide these local budgets are required to keep our communities going.
Your property taxes are based on the tax assessors determination of the value of your home. It’s important to keep a watch on your tax bill and the value of your home as calculated by the tax assessor. While it is important for each of us to do our part to fund our local government, we shouldn’t have to pay more than our fair share. The tax assessor’s determination on the value of your home is somewhat subjective, so if you feel that your property has been over valued, it’s important to speak up and appeal the assessment.
It’s also important to get involved at the local level so that you understand the items in your county’s budget. If your property taxes are funding this budget, then you have a say in the budget items. You can’t speak up about unnecessary waste of taxpayers’ money if you don’t know how the money is being spent.
Taxes On Property News
New tax policy for property sector recommended - The News International
New tax policy for property sector recommended The News International KARACHI: Tax managers have recommended a new tax policy for the property sector with an aim to broaden the tax network and impose tax on those who are earning huge profits in this sector. “The growth of many sectors like cement and steel is dependent ... |
Tips for lowering your property-tax appraisal - Fort Worth Star Telegram
 Fort Worth Star Telegram | Tips for lowering your property-tax appraisal Fort Worth Star Telegram By Dave Lieber The state deadline for property tax protests is, by law, May 31. Don't wait until the last minute, because mail delivery can be slow. Contact your appraisal district by phone or online to get the ball rolling. Unlike others who played ... |
Pinal County mulls property-tax break - Arizona Republic
Pinal County mulls property-tax break Arizona Republic 24, 2012 09:56 PM Pinal County supervisors will vote today on a tentative county budget for fiscal year 2013 that includes a 2.5 percent reduction in the primary property-tax rate but no money for raises for county employees. |
Bills allowing property tax breaks for recruiting companies pass Senate - NOLA.com
 NOLA.com | Bills allowing property tax breaks for recruiting companies pass Senate NOLA.com By Jeff Adelson, The Times-Picayune BATON ROUGE -- A pair of heavily amended bills allowing local government to opt in to a program that would allow the state to recruit companies by promising to exempt them from property taxes for a limited time ... |
Plans for Dome, arena likely would bring tax hike - Houston Chronicle
Plans for Dome, arena likely would bring tax hike Houston Chronicle By Mike Morris If voters approve a proposed $523 million bond issue to renovate the Astrodome and replace Reliant Arena, Harris County officials say property taxes likely would have to rise to make the resulting debt payments. The recommendation to put ... |