State Property Taxes

[kayman]

Property Tax Appraisal Discussion in the gubernatorial races

IMO, I think it should remain because it is a federal court-ordered and is one-step towards making our state's tax system a better funding source for education. Also, if we could finally get rid of that God-awful sales tax on food, clothes, and medicine we would be better off. However, AEA & ALFA is kicking, fighting, and screaming "FOUL"!.

[jmanhsv]

I agree that the state should keep annual tax appraisals. People like Lucy Baxley are making it sound bad, though it has put millions of dollars into our schools. We have the lowest property taxes in the nation, so giving a bit more each year won't hurt.

Personally I think constitutional reform should be a bigger issue. I haven't heard one thing about it in these elections until last night's debates on APT.

[rivercity123]

I agree that the state should keep annual tax appraisals. People like Lucy Baxley are making it sound bad, though it has put millions of dollars into our schools. We have the lowest property taxes in the nation, so giving a bit more each year won't hurt.

Personally I think constitutional reform should be a bigger issue. I haven't heard one thing about it in these elections until last night's debates on APT.

[DruidCity]

I wonder how much overhead cost there is to doing appraisals more frequently ?

[kayman]

Apparent there is empathetic souls within this state that cares about how education is funded via property taxes.

State voters approve property tax proposal for school funding

However, this just evens out the playing field for school funding statewide, so it doesn't affect school districts already enforcing this rules.

[kayman]

Sales tax increase fuels Dothan feud

It's apparent that somebody in the state is getting fed up with our overburdened lop-sided tax system. The citizens of Dothan are now signing a petition to call upon a public vote to repeal the recently increased sales tax and reform the city government. Interesting..... Could this be a sign that something big is coming on in the near future involving our tax system?

[kayman]

Here is an interesting discussion from The Birmingham News about this year's rising of income tax level from $4,600 to $12,600. Also how there needs to be a discussion on fixing our unfair tax system by raising the property taxes on large landowners.

Two years in a row

[kayman]

New property tax law add funds to some schools

The state property tax minimum has been raised to 10 mills which will add funds to certain school districts like Marion, Montgomery, and Elmore counties. The 10 millage minimum seems to help Montgomery County due to the fact back in 2004 that the county failed to renew the 8 mills tax on a referendum. Now the county can continue construction on $300 million building project.

[DruidCity]

The state property tax minimum has been raised to 10 mills

[kayman]

That is a good move. It had been 9.5 mills in rural Tuscaloosa County, for instance.

Years ago, some state legislators (especially the late Nelson Starkey from NW AL) proposed

raising the state minimum to 30 mills. I wonder how well Alabamians would take to that ONLY IF it's paired with a drop in sales tax (especially on food and medicine) and state income tax (some "progressive, growing" states like Florida have none) ?

[Southron]

My vote is to keep the annual property tax appraisals. Our underfunded state government needs the revenue. I'd also like to see large landowners paying their fair share of property taxes, regardless of what ALFA says.

[kayman]

An update to this state's property tax debacle. There has been a federal lawsuit filed on the behalf of students in Lawerence and Sumter counties calling foul on the state's tax system due to the low funding for students via state property taxes. The plaintiff's lawyers are seeking class-action status for all the students of the state. The lawsuit contends the way schools are funded, rooted in racially discriminatory property tax restrictions in the state's 1901 constitution, forces local governments to raise school revenues primarily through regressive sales taxes. The suit said Alabama's state and local property taxes are the lowest of all 50 states, and that the system shrinks property taxes for wealthy landowners. The suit said 70 percent of Alabama's land mass is forest, but because of the 10 percent ratio and Lid Bill provisions (a 1973 amendment that limits tax collections in any one year on any particular property to a certain percentage of its fair market value), forest land contributes only 2 percent of property tax revenue.

The ramifications of this lawsuit could force Alabama to initiate a major reform of its tax structure across the board whether the state legislature wants to or not. I feel that students of both secondary and higher education deserves better funding from this state, and if the federal courts have to force Alabama to modernize its tax structure then so be it.

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