Newly-appointed State Rep. Kent Gaffney sends this press release:
Gaffney wants tax relief for homeowners
Property tax bills should reflect declining home values
Wauconda, IL… In response to increasing property tax bills in the collar counties, State Representative Kent Gaffney (R-Lake Barrington) has signed on to House Bill 3793, a measure that would change Illinois’ Property Tax Extension Limitation Law.
Gaffney says that since he was recently sworn in a State Representative, he has received many phone calls from constituents upset that their property tax bills increased despite the fact that their property assessments decreased.
Kent Gaffney
“Written in Illinois’ tax code is a ‘cap’ on tax levies, either 5% or the rate of inflation,” said Gaffney.
“Back when this was first introduced, the housing market was in the middle of a bull market and it saved homeowners thousands of dollars from increasing assessments.
“Now that everyone’s assessment is going down, this ‘cap’ is being used as a loophole by taxing bodies to increase property taxes.”
The Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) limits local taxing bodies from increasing their tax levies each year at 5% or the rate off inflation, whichever is less.
However, in 2008 when the housing market crashed and assessments went down, taxing bodies began increasing their levies at the rate of inflation, increasing most homeowners’ overall tax bill.
HB 3793 would prohibit taxing bodies from increasing their levies in years that property assessments decrease.
“To me, it is completely unfair for people to be paying higher property taxes when their property values are declining,” said Gaffney. “This legislation will update Illinois’ tax code to reflect the economic reality of the current housing market.”
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The mechanics of why local tax districts, including schools, can raise their tax rates without voter approval has been explained previously on McHenry County Blog:
- “School Tax Rates Soar as Assessment Plunge“
- “Lakewood’s Tax Rate Up Most, Richmond’s Only One Down“
- “Real Estate Assessments Down Almost 10%, Don’t Expect a Lower Tax Bill“
- “The Primal Urge of Government: Take as Much as It Can“
- “Local School and Tax Districts Not Bragging about Lower Tax Rates“
- “Why Townships Don’t Just Reduce the Amount They Tax“
- “The Skunk, the Meerkats and the Elephant – Part 2“
Property values decline. Economy in the tank. Taxes increase. Teachers still get 6% end of career salary increases, each of the last 4 years of their career.
House values tank and my property taxes were raised by 14% this year. I will believe this when I see it and it should be retroactive. I know people around the country and when we talk property taxes they nearly pass out when I say that my $180k house has $6k/yr taxes on it. In California a $320k house pays $3k/year. There is a Union black hole that is sucking in our money and bleeding us dry. Pretty soon the only people that will be able to afford living in IL are the state workers!
Jim – This is apples and oranges. Although corporate taxation is a similar between the two, individual taxes are quite different. Retirement income other than social security is fully taxed in CA from what I can find. In addition, the 6.25% tax rate starts at just over 50K for a married couple and the 9+% rate kicks injust over 90K. I can’t say on a statewide basis, but collar county taxpayers for the most part would not fare any better in that system even with the itemized deductions as CA allows.