Why is this even a thing? Is it some sort of feel good measure to placate mathematically illiterate voters? The clause is pointless. If everybody's property is assessed at 50% of market value, then property tax rates would have to be 200% to make up for it. At the end the tax you pay is still the same.
The important thing here is the injustice that was done to these people and the city’s refusal to make it right.
That's definitely not the case in my municipality (North-East USA).
Tax assessments are as close to market value as you can get, considering that they are only being appraised every 5 years (I think, it may be 3 years). So there's obviously some lag if the market booms or busts. But overall it's pretty damn close to market prices and averages out over the long term.
There are also many firms to dispute your assessment and lower your property tax bill. They do aggressive mass mailing and are able to claim very specific reductions. They then take a percentage (usually half) of first year savings.
> Indiana property tax caps limit the amount of property taxes to 1% of property values for homesteads (owner-occupied), 2% for other residential property and farmland, and 3% for all other property
Previous places I have lived without this law, things worked differently.
> At the end the tax you pay is still the same.
So, no. That is, IIUC, the tax rates are what they are based on the 50% assessment.
>So, no. That is, IIUC, the tax rates are what they are based on the 50% assessment.
I don't get it. You admit that the tax rates would be higher (presumably 2x higher) to compensate for the 50% assessment, but claim that the tax won't be the same at the end?
The 2x factor increases the taxes paid by people who own properties with a taxable value less than the assessed value.
But once you normalize for all of that, then, assessing at 85% is really like assessing for 170% which would be bad.
Also - in a situation of rapidly deteriorating home values, the state may be short sighted, in wanting to pay it's bills, trying to extract some value.
It's really sad because you generally don't see entire neighbourhoods go to nothing in most of the modern world.