From the Kokomo Tribune:
Local units of government will be receiving less in anticipated revenues in 2014 as more properties hit the property tax caps put into place several years ago by the Indiana General Assembly.
Property owners are guaranteed not to pay more in property taxes than the caps imposed by the state. The caps were implemented in an effort to lower real estate taxes. Property taxes are capped at 1 percent for residential properties, 2 percent for agriculture and rental properties and 3 percent for businesses.
An error in the calculation of the impact of the caps will result in Kokomo receiving $600,000 less than anticipated and Howard County receiving an estimated $83,000 less.
Howard County Auditor Martha Lake informed members of the Kokomo Common Council Monday of the impact on city revenues.
This year the loss in property tax revenues to the city of Kokomo as a result of the caps was an estimated $4.6 million. Lake said the loss next year was estimated at $6.2 million, but will now be an expected $6.8 million.
She said Howard County anticipated cap losses of $2,206,375, and the estimated loss will actually be $2,289,500.
...
The assessed value for the city of Kokomo is dropping by $189,000 for 2014 to $2.3 billion as compared to $2.5 billion this year.
Lake said the assessed value in the county hasn’t grown as expected.
“The lower assessed value and the anticipated higher tax rate is helping the taxpayer, but allowing more properties to hit the tax caps,” she said.
“This should be the worst year,” Lake said. “Next year there should be growth in the assessed value and the tax abatements start to be reduced.”
The impact will be felt by all taxing units in the county, but Kokomo and Howard County will be among the hardest hit by the tax caps.
http://kokomotribune.com/local/x934965023/Tax-caps-impact-increasing
