"How to Avoid Unfair Property Taxes; Top 15 Highest Property Tax Counties"
By SUSANNA KIM (@skimm)
March 14, 2012
The battered real estate market has another side effect that often goes overlooked, consumer finance and tax experts say: Millions of homeowners are unknowingly paying too much property tax.
According to the National Taxpayers Union, about 30 percent of properties in the U.S. are assessed at higher values than they are really worth. That means their owners pay inflated property tax bills while other taxpayers in their towns reap the benefits.
Cities, counties and school districts are collecting 20 percent more in property taxes than they did in 2006, before the housing bubble burst and when home values were one-third higher than they are today, USA Today reported.
Though some of the assessments may have adjusted, the total amount of local state and property tax collection has only taken a small dip very recently, said Pete Sepp, executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union. Sepp said that may mean the assessments have been decreasing but property tax rates may be increasing.
"Homeowners probably haven't been getting the relief they expected when values dropped," he said....
...Meanwhile, only 2 percent of homeowners appeal their property taxes, according to the National Taxpayers Union.
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