Would be scratching their heads at this oddity that Craig at MTPolitics found
The headline that the blogger jhwygirl wrote:
Governor to Propose Reduction in Property Taxes
The Article she linked to says:
The Department of Revenue says it is closely watching the housing market to make sure values aren’t dropping as it finishes its statewide reappraisal.
Director Dan Bucks says the agency has extended its analysis of home values to include this spring’s real estate season. He says so far the agency has found no evidence prices are dropping on a widespread basis.
The new property values set by the agency will be used to set taxable values.
Bucks says the agency wants to make sure that people don’t unfairly get hit with valuations higher than the actual value of their homes.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer has promised there will be no statewide increase in property taxes as a result of the reappraisal. The details of that plan have not been released.
I understand that my math skills are not proficient as they used to be, but (and this is a Rosie O’Donnell sized butt) I do not believe that the term “No Increase” is not equal to the term “Reduction”.
This may be some combination of “New Math” and “New English” that they are teaching nowadays, and if they are, then those doing the instruction absolutely need to be shot.
I’ve heard of rooting for a politician. I’ve also heard of “Newspeak”. You can decide which this is.
As always, be on the watch for this combination in your locale.
This is actually very serious business. The exact parameters that go into tax appraisals WILL make or break state budgets. It’s conceivable that even changing one word could make for tens of millions of dollars change, so it all has to be done VERY carefully, and vetted by lots of experts on all sides of the political fence.
Nothing less than the entire credibility of s State government is at stake here.
…and my math is as bad as yours, but even I can see that if values drop, and rates remain the same, the net result IS a tax revenue reduction. Isn’t this why governments dependent on real estate tax revenue are supposed to (1) diversify their revenue program and (2) have rainy-day funds?