(STATEHOUSE) Feb. 24, 2009 - Rep. Jacque Clements (R-Frankfort) and the House of Representatives passed legislation Monday that requires property to be valued for property tax assessment purposes as of the assessment date. The bill passed with 97-0 vote. House Bill 1094 also eliminates (1) the requirement for the county auditor to mail annual information statements to each person liable for property taxes and (2) the alternative property tax assessment appeal deadline based on the mailing date of the county auditor's statement. Rep. Clements offered an amendment to this bill that will eliminate an October mailing by the County Auditor's office, which was scheduled to begin mailing in the fall of 2010. "The original intent of this notice was to inform taxpayers of the difference between the current year and the previous year's taxes at budget time. However, many local units adopt inflated budgets and tax rates to avoid loses if an error is made, making the information contained in this notice all estimated information which could cause confusion and sometimes panic to the taxpayers." Since the creation of this October notice, the annual tax bill has been changed and it now contains the comparison information which is actual information. "The elimination of this October notice will save counties thousands of dollars. It is estimated that it costs an average of $0.70 per parcel to mail this notice in Howard Co. and therefore saves the county more than $30,000." Rep. Clements encourages her constituents to contact her with questions or concerns through e-mail at h38@in.gov, by calling the Statehouse at 1-800-382-9841 or by writing her at 200 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204.
|
