(Chicago Sun Times) — Cook County’s mind-boggling property tax system should be simplified and made fairer, a taxpayer watchdog group argued in a report to be issued today. The nonpartisan Civic Federation said widely used tax breaks such as homestead exemptions should be reduced or eliminated. Tax relief for homeowners, the group said, could come […]
(Chicago Sun Times) — You just opened your Cook County property tax bill and the amount feels like a punch to the forehead. What do you do? 1. Pay the bill. The deadline is Dec. 13, and even if you are certain there’s an injustice, make sure you pay in time. If you don’t, penalties […]
(Wall Street Journal) — Through all the turmoil that erased billions of dollars from the value of U.S. homes, owners in New York City are seeing their property tax continue to rise without skipping a beat. Don’t believe it? Just check the city tax bills going out to homeowners. The latest bills sent out by […]
(Crain’s) — Gov. David Paterson offered Monday to back off from calling a special session of the state Legislature to consider a property tax cap, but only if the Assembly promises to approve a cap next year. Several weeks ago, the governor vowed to call state legislators back to Albany before the November election for […]
(Chicago Tribune) — Faced with a politically tricky situation, Gov. Pat Quinn on Sunday signed legislation to extend a popular property tax break for Cook County homeowners but that also requires senior citizens to reapply each year for a tax exemption. The law continues a 7 percent limit in annual growth of a home’s value for […]
(NYT) — Homeowners have been far less successful than businesses in winning appeals for lower property tax assessments, a Chicago News Cooperative analysis shows — a discrepancy that strikes at a key issue in the race to replace James Houlihan, the retiring Cook County assessor. Read More…
(AP) — Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley says he won’t propose increasing property taxes in next year’s budget. Daley made that pledge Tuesday during an appearance before the City Club of Chicago. Daley says the city’s revenues have seen some increase but it’s hardly enough to qualify as an economic recovery. He says he doesn’t want […]
(Atlanta Journal Constitution) — A taxpayers group is suing the Fulton County Board of Assessors and asking the court to freeze the property assessments at their 2009 level because it says is illegally jacking up the assessments far above their fair market values. “They should have lowered them,” said RJ Morris, a spokesman for the […]
Marylanders will pay the same state property tax rate next year as they have for the past four years, the Board of Public Works voted Wednesday, but keeping rates low could cost the state $20 million by fiscal 2012. The board voted to maintain the state property tax rate at 11.2 cents per $100 of […]