Blame it on state: Property tax bills will be higher
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Douglas County Tax Commissioner Todd Cowan completes paperwork Friday on the 2009 county property tax bills. Many homeowners will find they’re paying $200 to $300 more this year because the state removed the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant (HTRG). (Photo by Winston Jones/Sentinel)
Georgia House Bill 143, signed into law this spring, will add more than $200 to the tax bills of property owners who have homestead exemptions. The law removes the state’s Homeowners Tax Relief Grant (HTRG) that taxpayers have enjoyed in past years until such time state revenues reach 3 percent plus inflation.
“The HTRG loss will have much more impact on taxpayers than any of the increases by the county, cities or school systems,” Todd Cowan, county tax commissioner, said Friday.
Cowan said for a senior citizen with a senior exemption for school taxes, the HTRG loss will add only about $65 to the bill.
Cowan finds it ironic the way the state is handling publicity about the loss of HTRG compared with when it was put in place five years ago.
“Since it was implemented, we have been required to print the following statement on all tax bills:
‘This reduction in your bill is the result of homeowner’s tax relief enacted by the Governor and the General Assembly of the State of Georgia’,” Cowan said.
House Bill 143 goes out of its way to make sure counties don’t emphasize the loss of HTRG, Cowan said.
The law states, “each fiscal authority shall not include a notice on each tax bill regarding the unavailability of the credit.”
Cowan said although it can’t be printed on the tax bill itself, he is considering an insert in the envelope to explain the increase to taxpayers.
He said tax bills will be going in the mail in early to mid-September with payment due 60 days from the date mailed, making the deadline around mid-November.
Here are some examples, provided by Cowan, showing the tax impact on a $100,000 home which has homestead qualification:
• In unincorporated Douglas County: The owner will pay $281.86 more taxes this year compared with last year. The loss of HTRG will acount for $212.26 of it; Douglas County .106 millage increase, $3.60; and school bond millage increase, $66.
• In the city of Douglasville: The owner will pay $363.33 more, with the loss of HTRG accounting for $243.09; Douglas County millage increase, $3.60; school bond millage, $66; and Douglasville millage increase, $50.64.
• and in the city of Villa Rica: The owner will pay $330.33 more, with the loss of HTRG, $260.73; Douglas County millage increase, $3.60; and school bond millage increase, $66. Villa Rica did not increase its millage rate this year.
Lets just screw over the ones who pay bills on time and don't over spend and save money.
Tea Parties are advertised as the outrage of taxation without representation. What about the state of Georgia? I don’t hear any outrage, and yes I do agree that Todd Cowan has nothing to do with this matter. Who I do put the ball in the court of is Sonny Purdue and the Republican controlled legislature. What happened to the party of low taxes? If Roy Barnes were in office, everyone would be hitting the roof over a tax and spend Democrat Governor doing something like this. Don’t worry if a Republican Governor signs Georgia House Bill 143 into law.
I’m a life long resident of this town and I still have to scratch my head from time to time. Maybe it’s just me, but $200 to $300 is a chunk of change for many folks teetering on the edge of survival in this economy.
If so, then we should just grin and pay up. The government, whether Federal, State, County or City cost money to run and provide the basic services that we require. When you look at it, we still get a pretty good deal for what we get. Don't blame Todd Cowan. He's just doing what he's gotta do. People would really fuss if the taxes were lower and we got much less than we get now. Thank God you live in a country like the U.S. and a state like Georgia.