Americans Set to Resist Property Tax Increases
The economic climate in the United States today is leading to conditions that might not have even seemed feasible only 2 years ago. The global recession, financial crisis and resulting crash in the housing market has shaken up most US citizens, chief among them being those who own their own homes or business properties. Many are now stuck paying property taxes that are more reflective of boom time home values rather than today’s values. This has lead many who have seen drastic drops in their homes’ values to grow increasingly bitter against the tax authorities in their area that have been slow to adjust to the changes in property worth. Due to this growing sentiment, many economic observers are warning that a back lash is imminent and citizens may begin to take matters into their own hands by refusing to pay the inflated taxes on their homes and businesses. With the local level governments being the authorities who levy taxes in such cases, there may not be much they can do if a large enough group of property owners resist the taxation until it is returned to levels they can afford more easily. This would be a major legal issue if it were to become wide spread.
The problem stems from the fact that the majority of states do not assess property values each year, but rather every few years. This means that the tax levels can be left quite high after a rapid drop in property values and vice versa.