NEW TRUTH-IN-TAXATION LAWS AFFECT 2008 LEVY
Two bills passed during the 2007 legislative session that relate to truth-in-taxation had delayed effective dates of January 1, 2008. City finance officers will therefore need to incorporate the requirements of those two bills into this year's tax rate preparations.
The first bill, H.B. 3495, requires that the published notice of a city council meeting at which there will be a vote on a tax rate that exceeds the effective tax rate must contain certain comparative information about the tax levies for the current year and the prior year. Specifically, the comparison must show: (1) total property tax revenue raised last year; (2) total property tax revenue to be raised this year at the proposed rate, excluding tax revenue from new property; and (3) total property tax revenue to be raised this year at the proposed rate, including tax revenue from new property.
The second bill, H.B. 3630, affects tax notices as follows:
- requires that the published notice of the city's two tax increase hearings must acknowledge that there are two hearings, instead of one, and must give the date and time of the second hearing in addition to the first;
- requires that the published notice of the city's two tax increase hearings must contain comparative information regarding the "average taxable value" of a residence homestead in the city and the tax levied on such an "average" home for both last year and this year at the proposed rate;
- requires that the published notice of the city's two tax increase hearings must contain this statement: "Members of the public are encouraged to attend the hearings and express their views”;
- deletes old notice language relating to property tax comparisons and replaces it with the new "average taxable value" analysis in (2) above;
- requires that the published notice of a city council meeting at which there will be a vote on the tax rate that exceeds the effective tax rate must contain the same new comparative information required by H.B. 3495 above.
A summary of the combined budget and taxation deadlines in effect for 2008 is located on the TML Web site. A city that levies more than $500,000 in property taxes or adopts a tax rate over $.50 per $100 of value should consult the following:
http://www.tml.org/legal_pdf/2008budgettaxdeadlines-LargeCity.pdf
A city that levies $500,000 or less in property taxes and adopts a tax rate of $.50 or less per $100 of value, should consult the following:
http://www.tml.org/legal_pdf/2008budgettaxdeadlines-SmallCity.pdf