By Teresa Musick
Anderson resident
I was reading the paper on March 1, and saw the article about our property taxes getting back in sync in that we pay them in May and November.
This same article gave an e-mail address that we could use to get an estimate of our property taxes for this year. When I filled out the form I was amazed to find that the amount of tax mine came up to was the gross assessed value of my home figured at 1 percent. So the gross assessed value of my home as listed by Madison County is $102,400. The estimator said my taxes would be $1,024, hence 1 percent.
Here is my question: what good are our homestead credits, mortgage exemption, or disability credits if we are paying the 1 percent? You see, my adjustments totaled $8,0570, which left me with a new net assessed value of $21,830. So you would think my taxes would be figured on the $21,830 number. Which means a tax bill of $218.30 a year at 1 percent?
Guess what, they were figured on the $21,830, but it still came out the 1 percent of my gross value, because they just increased the tax rate.
Now why do we have the adjustments if we are going to pay the 1 percent?
I did figure my taxes on the gross assessed value at the new tax rates without the adjustments and they would have been $2,604. So, yes, I got a break on property taxes, but it still came out to 1 percent of gross assessed value without even considering any adjustments.
Why are we having all the adjustments when they don’t mean anything anymore? Just use the 1 percent and be done with it. We could cut out jobs and save money in Madison County because we would not need all the extra fancy figuring going on.
The other problem I am having is the gross assessed value keeps going up, when we all know the gross assessed values of our homes have done nothing but go down in Madison County.
Try to sell your home today at the gross assessed value. It probably will not happen.
Letters
Viewpoint: Property tax adjustments don't mean anything
- Letters
-
-
Letter: Union attitude must prevail for recovery
Any recovery for the middle class, in the recovery of our economy, will be led by the recovery of the union attitude in America. Nothing else.
- Letter: Founding fathers were humanists
-
Letter: Lutz not representing the working class
I feel bad that Rep. Lutz (R) is sad, because Democrats at the Statehouse are representing the working class people of Indiana. While he is representing big business.
-
Viewpoint:: Washington must wake up to missile threat
Three years after President Obama opened an outstretched hand to Iran and attempted to reset relations with Russia, the former has restarted its drive to build nuclear weapons including recent missile testing and saber rattling while the latter has dropped its diplomatic relations to Cold War temperatures.
-
Letter: Consumer-driven economy will pay off debt
To save America some money — by acclimation of course — let’s not have a presidential election in 2012. We already have a good president who will do his best to kill all Republican bills (DOA) and, consequently, create more good-paying jobs in the $30 per hour range.
-
Letter: Gingrich cashes in on political amnesia
Rasmussen says that Romney has flattened nationally. Why?
Two reasons seem to tell the tale. Gingrich has shown that he will fight, and Romney is a Mormon, believed to be a “cult” by a majority of evangelicals. -
Letter: Hiring Winkler not wise spending
As a taxpayer I want to know that my taxes are being spent wisely. Hiring Greg Winkler at a salary of $126,000 is not wise spending.
-
Letter: Bill of Rights being nullified by new law
President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act on New Year’s Eve. I doubt many Americans noticed its implications because they do not yet comprehend the big picture. This law, coupled with the Patriot Act, is paving the way for America’s direction toward tyranny.
-
Letter: $14 trillion debt started by previous president
I’m a proud atheist who’s lucky enough to know the difference between fact and fantasy.
-
Letter: Economy putting people in the gutters
We are now getting the results of putting people in the gutters. We need to take a second look at our government and its policies. It’s not working.
- More Letters Headlines
-
Letter: Union attitude must prevail for recovery
