April 3, 2008 - The House Ways and Means Committee today heard testimony on SB 711, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Mike Gibbons, a bill that will begin to reform Missouri's property tax system.Associated Industries of Missouri and the NFIB remain the only two general business groups supporting the bill. We support the positive changes the bill makes for our taxpaying employers.
Many of our members have been upset with the tax bills resulting from the reassessment of the value of their property every two years without a simultaneous roll-back in tax rate. Because all taxing districts are not required to roll-back their rates, employers and other taxpayers receive astronomical increases in their property tax bills. One of our members noted an increase of more than 30%!
SB 711 would require taxing districts to roll-back their rates. It would also bring transparency to the property tax system by requiring taxing districts that want additional tax money to adopt a policy statement, ordinance or resolution explaining tax increases in non-reassessment years. The bill also requires taxing districts to play fair with taxpayers by requiring tax increases to be adjusted so they reflect the amount of assessed tax that would be equal to the assessed valuation in effect at the time voters adopted the tax increase multiplied by the new tax rate. The current system allows an automatic double dip tax increase because the tax increase is adopted and then applied to the higher assessed valuations resulting from reassessment.
County collectors, county assessors, the State Tax Commission and a citizens group in St. Louis County also support the bill.
