Guest Editorial

 by Juris Curiskis


Property Tax Adjustment Explanation

The responses to my last e-mail broadcast indicate that there still remains a general question how can we collect “fair” homestead property taxes based on our incomes.

The answer is very simple because the proposal does not advocate collecting the property taxes based on our incomes, but rather adjusting them based on our incomes. The attached PDF shows the MN Department of Revenue (DOR) numbers   for each of the 20 taxing districts in Minnesota.

The columns below show how much income we had as a group, how much property taxes we paid as a group, and what our fair share is, as a group, based on our incomes. And of course, the same fair share of our incomes would apply to every individual homeowner to sustain the same tax revenues. But unfortunately not everybody is paying their fair share and that is why we see that some households pay as much as 40% of their household income in property taxes while others only a 0.5%.

As I indicated in the second paragraph above, the local homestead property taxes would not change. After looking at the DOR chart, there is no need to change that because 3% and under, for a group of taxpayers, is the lowest tax rate of any tax that we pay. However, someone paying 40% is extreme. That is why we need an adjustment to our individual property taxes so that everybody has the same homestead property tax burden.

To adjust the homestead property tax, the state can use the same mechanism it uses for calculating the property tax relief called the “circuit breaker”. So, as you can see there would not be any massive property tax reform, as some of you have imagined, if our homestead property taxes were adjusted based on our incomes. From the government’s side, nothing will change, However, from the taxpayer’s side, we will be assured that we can’t be taxed out of our own homes. 

If you have any questions or want to hear what other collateral benefits will result if our homestead property taxes are adjusted to be fair, please call me at: 612-377-6153 or 612-616-8823.

You may send comments or questions to: JurisC@AOL.com or call at 612-377-6153.





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