tax shift

The Legislature established a new appraisal process in 1972 requiring the state to appraise, assess, and equalize the valuation of all property for taxation. However, in recent years, the Legislature has neglected equalization, leading to a shift in taxation burden from corporate and business properties to residential properties. Residential property taxes have increased significantly while corporate and business property taxes have fallen. This has resulted in homeowners paying a larger share of taxes and covering the taxes that aren’t paid by other classes of properties. The state’s current approach to taxing residential properties is based on intangibles like location, while corporate properties are offered exclusions from similar intangible values, resulting in lost revenue and an unfair burden on homeowners.