Reader comments
Measure would change way property is valued

Instead of having to do another constitutional amendment put restrictions and controls on county auditors to prevent them from performing tax increses by arbitrally raising property values. If property values go up tax rates do not automaticlly increase with it. A proportional decrease in taxing rates to offset an inflated market value. The county auditor is not be allowed to raise taxes as well as value by inflating value. Valuation should be returned to the legislators for adjustment in taxes that the law prescribes. A one man tax adjuster is not legal or fair to the citizens of Utah. We also need grandfather property tax laws to prevent over valuation on property that is not for sale or it's value if put on the inflated market values.

This year's property tax valuation on my lot in an unincorporated area of the county has been increased 2 1/2 times in one year . Simply because three or four people who were anxious to live in a rural area paid exorbitant prices for an acre of land .
Amen to the proposal by the legislator from Parowan .

There's a taxation category called "Greenbelt" that gives farmers tax breaks for farming large tracts of land. If that land ever changes uses, in other words, goes from farming to development, the seller or the buyer has to pay a 5-year "rollback" covering the tax difference between farm use and what would have been paid under any other use. Perhaps residential property values ought to be taxed similiarly. You pay property tax based upon what you paid for the home and if you ever sell, then a formula decides what taxes could be recouped as part of the sale. Similar to the old "recapture" law that was part of FHA for so many years.

Rolling averages over 5 yrs. only statistically hides unfair and irrational surges in assessments. Change the law. Strip School Dists. and all other leeches on our tax bills into separate service and independent taxing agencies. Make the "Income tax and 55% to 75% of our Property taxes into a sing "School Tax" that is truly is. Make property Tax a property tax or better yet delete it entirely. Do not doctor symptoms of a diseased taxtation system (Truth in Taxation and market value).

Freeze values at the price paid when the property was purchase. Retired couples shouldn't be taxed off their land because somebody wants to pay dearly for their neighbors property.

If they sell, then raise the taxes accordingly - if not let it be frozen!

As I recall the "freeze at purchase price" has been tried in another state and it ran into problems that X was on a piece of property that was the same as Y next door but the taxes paid by each business were very different, by a factor of many times in one location. The one business claimed they were not able to compete where a tax break went to a long-time owner and then they as a new owner didn't get that government subsidy.

It seemed like it caused some market problems when a "payment due upon sale" was created and when they went to sell, their long-term accumulated taxes were so large that they didn't get anything from the sale ( and in some cases even owed more than proceeds. ) The buyer also had a hard time coming up with a price when the previous owner added it to the purchase price. The benefit went to the owner who paid FAIR taxes on a regular basis & the deal was made at true market value of the property.