From The
Assessor
The property tax bills will be arriving in your mailbox by next
week. As was the case last year, many of you will see an
increase in the amount you owe for your tax bill. I understand
there will be unhappiness, exasperation, and confusion-why is my
tax bill continuing to increase, as my assessment goes down. Please
click here to see
how you can make a difference.
ASSESSMENTS DOWN- WILL TAX BILL INCREASE?
What about my tax bill, when will it go down?" That is a
frequently asked question and the answer in all likelihood it will
not. Assessments are going down because of the decline in the
real estate market. Generally tax bills are going up as a
result of increased spending by taxing bodies such as schools,
villages and park districts. If government spending doesn't
go down, taxes won't go down either. Property taxes exist to
fund local government spending. If government's spending and the
"levy" requests do not decrease, most of us will not see relief.
In fact, Illinois law allows for increases in spending at the
rate of the Annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 5%, whichever is
less. For the tax bill you will receive in May 2012, the CPI
increase is 1.5%. This means spending and "levying" can
increase, so tax bills could rise by 1.5%, even though your
assessment was decreased.
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