Star Tribune Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:15:34 GMT
Housing slump won't mean tax break in Dakota County
Because of the way property taxes are calculated, the impact of the housing slump on tax bills won't be felt for some time, assessor says. The value of the average home in Dakota County has slipped by about $7,000, and that drop will begin to be reflected before long in property tax bills, the county board learned Tuesday. But it's also a process that works in slow motion: Because so many protections are built into the system, the housing slump won't truly work its way into the household budget until next year. And it won't kick in big-time until the year after that, county assessor Bill Peterson told the county board in a briefing. Still, it's something: In neighboring Scott County the average value on paper is still rising slightly. Contrary to a "common misperception," Peterson said, the mere fact that property values decline won't mean that peoples' taxes also drop. "That's a later step." Falling values, however, do require politicians to take tougher steps to keep bringing in tax dollars. While rising values create an automatic tax cascade, with receipts sometimes rising even as elected officials cut the rate of taxation, today's market could require votes to raise tax rates just to cover inflationary increases. In Dakota County, values fell in every city of any size. They sank fastest in the cities with the most affordable homes: remote Farmington and aging South St. Paul. Inver Grove Heights came closest to maintaining its value.
[[keywords: PropertyTax;Metro;]]
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