Property tax notices — a shock in the mail

The property tax notices coming soon to mailboxes will bear bad news for most Utahns. Property taxes statewide are rising 11.6 percent this year, according to Deseret Morning News analysis of State Tax Commission data.

That comes while inflation has been running about just 2 percent here — so taxes are rising nearly six times faster than inflation.

"That's high," said Mike Jerman, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association. His business group projects tax hikes that are a bit smaller than what the Morning News figures, about 10.9 percent overall. Jerman uses somewhat different data and methods. Either way, it's a double-digit increase this year.

"Property taxes have not increased at a double-digit rate since 1999," Jerman said. "Typically, annual increases have been about 6 percent, which is in line with inflation and population growth."

The Morning News totaled and analyzed the final tax budgets for more than 500 local governments in Utah, and tax rates for them and the more than 1,200 "tax areas" created by crisscrossing boundaries of local governments. Among findings are:

• 471 of the 513 local governments in Utah are increasing property tax revenue this year.

Deseret Morning News graphic    2007 Property tax hikes and cuts by local governments in Utah

• Eight local governments are at least doubling taxes this year. The town of Kanarraville is the highest, where rates are nearly quintupling. Another 11 governments are raising property tax revenues between 50 and 99 percent.

• Budgets call for raising a projected $1.85 billion through property tax this year, compared to $1.66 billion budgeted last year. Property tax notices by law should be mailed by Nov. 1, and taxes are due on Nov. 30.

• Taxes vary widely across Utah. The highest are in a small part of Shadow Mountain Lane in Ogden: $2,395 on a $250,000 home. The lowest are in an unincorporated part of Rich County near Bear Lake: $694 on a $250,000 home.

• Among the 25 most populous communities in Utah, people in Ogden pay the highest property taxes, followed by Salt Lake City and West Valley City. The lowest taxes among them are in St. George, followed by Pleasant Grove and Orem.

Big increases

Some places will have worse news on tax notices than others.

For example, the town of Kanarraville, south of Cedar City in Iron County, imposed the largest property tax budget increase of any government by percentage: 389.1 percent. In other words, its tax receipts are nearly quintupling.