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Date: September 12, 2005
Topic: Economic Empowerment Education Seminar Oct. 18 and 19
Author: Joseph A. Gomeztagle
The e3 seminar will focus on Sales Tax Increment Financing as an economic development tool and will take place Oct. 18 and 19.
Learn more and register online now.
Date: September 10, 2004
Topic: Commercial Properties on the Block with Property Taxes
Author: Joseph A. Gomeztagle
Preview of article: [
Click here to download the entire article ] Who are the top 500 taxpayers in Lake County and what is their relationship
to the community.
The top 500 taxpayers in Lake County are made up of Industry and commercial properties. Industrial taxable properties are used for the purpose of manufacturing, processing, refining foods and materials. Commercial property represents rental, business, commercial and recreational properties.
A number of us would agree that it is appropriate for these businesses to be at the top of this list. That’s true, to some extent. But, they also represent jobs and create a base for the community that may result in a lower tax rate. Commercial properties, for instance, happen to provide rental properties for those who may not be able to afford a new house or do not want to be inconvenienced with the maintenance of the property. Commercial owners usually pass on any additional cost to their tenants or customers. It is natural that commercial owners want to make some profit on their investment because that is the spirit of entrepreneurship. Therefore, renters and customers indirectly pay for a high tax bill.
In Lake County the top 500 taxpayers represent .2% of the total number of parcels for the year 2001 payable 2002 and contributed $143,879,640 or 33% of the total levy. In contrast, for the year 2002 payable 2003, the contribution was $ 91,089,351, a drop of $52,849,494 translating to 19% of the total levy...[
read on
]
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Date: August 2, 2004
Topic: The inevitable has arrived
Author: Joseph A. Gomeztagle
In 1792 Indiana had no clear method of determining how to tax property.
The dilemma at that time was how to structure a tax system which would be reliable and consistently maintain local services rendered.
Transformation into a market based system
The basic survival of a healthy local community depends on a good administration of the property tax system. The property tax system is the most reliable method to maintain the local government services.
On December 4, 1998 the Indiana Supreme Court upheld the State Tax Court decision against the State Board of Tax Commissioners (now known as The Department of Local Government Finance) that the real property assessment manual used by the assessors to assess properties was unconstitutional. They then ordered the Legislators and Administration to craft a manual using real world values, or objective standards. This was the result of a series of events which began to unfold in 1991in the town of St. John, Indiana, in which citizens questioned the validity of the property tax system. It was this dynamics that would eventually alter the tax structure in Indiana. It was obvious that the application of the old property tax system violated every taxpayer’s constitutional rights.
Article 10, section 1 (a) of the Indiana Constitution reads:
“The General Assembly should provide, by law, for a uniform and equal rate of property assessment and taxation and shall prescribe regulations to secure a just valuation for taxation of all property, both real and personal.
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