From the Lafayette Journal & Courier:
Tippecanoe County property owners two weeks ago opened their mailbox to find notices of their latest property assessments, on which next year’s tax bills will be based.
Doubtless there were exasperated sighs, raised eyebrows and unkind words directed toward county officials. Overall, the county’s gross property assessed value is up 3 percent this year compared to last, so a lot of people saw assessments go up.
It didn’t take long before Tippecanoe County Council members got an earful from Paul Wright. The West Point resident regularly attends council and commissioner meetings and pleads with county officials to tighten their belts and give taxpayers a break.
“Assessments of property values are going up,” Wright said during the public comment section of the Aug. 13 council meeting. “Are you going to do anything with the current … tax rate? When you’re thinking about budgets and you don’t do anything with the current rate — it stays the same — everybody’s assessment goes up, what happens?
“Your income is going to go up and everyone else’s is going to go down, because they’re going to be paying higher property taxes.”
While it’s a common assumption that an increase in property assessed value will lead to higher taxes, that is not always the case, according to Tippecanoe County Auditor Jennifer Weston.
“What he was getting at is the biggest misconception that people have — that is, that there’s no cap on the revenue and that if assessed values do go up and tax rates are charged, that that’s just going to be a huge windfall for local governments.
“But that’s not how it works.”
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See the full article here:
http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013308240038&nclick_check=1
