Saturday, November 28, 2009

Property tax revenue plummets with home values

As banks feverishly dump foreclosed homes at cut-rate prices, and as neighboring homes change hands at similar bargain-basement rates, those amounts are enshrined as the new basis for determining property tax until the homes are sold again. Under Prop. 13, that basis can rise a maximum of just 2 percent a year, even if the home is worth significantly more. The consequence is likely to be a revenue crunch for the public services funded by property tax revenues.

Images

A residential area is seen in San Jose, Calif., on Jan. 2...A new home is shown in East Palo Alto. A real estate trac...Property tax revenue slump (Chronicle Graphic)

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