Marion County refigures property values amid errors
Indianapolis taxpayers wondering what their property is worth might have to wait until December because of widespread errors discovered in local assessments.
Assessments
Articles
Assessor predicts 2010 property tax bills will be on time
Indianapolis property tax bills, paid in two installments due in May and November, should be sent without delay for the first year since
2006.
Advisory panel urges EPA to back plan to pay for green projects via property tax
By issuing “voluntary environmental improvement bonds,”, local and state governments could
create special taxing districts that finance homeowner purchases of everything from solar panels to rain
gardens.
Indiana property owners to save more than expected
Property owners in Indiana are expected to save more on their tax bills in the next two years than originally predicted
because of caps on property taxes.
MARCUS: Let’s reassess reassessment
The process of assessment could be simplified and performed uniformly and inexpensively.
Tax caps thrill homeowners, assessments chill businesses
Soaring property taxes were arguably Indiana’s biggest problem in 2007. In 2008, the Legislature approved property tax caps
as a solution. But because the caps haven’t been implemented, debate is still raging over the consequences the caps will have
for local governments and whether they should be made permanent.
Appeals pay off for biz owners
More than one in four Marion County commercial and industrial property owners has appealed its property tax assessments this
year, and the challenges often are paying off in a big way.
Residents to decide fate of township assessors
In this election, citizens must decide whether the assessing duties of the elected township assessor in the township should
be transferred to the county assessor.
Assessor consolidation is a must
We have a long-standing policy of not endorsing political candidates, but there’s no such policy where ballot initiatives
are concerned. So we urge our readers to vote "yes" on assessor consolidation.
Flood of appeals expected after rushed biz property-tax assessment
In 2005, assessors valued the 559-acre Indianapolis Motor Speedway at $34.4 million for property tax purposes. According to
the latest Marion County reassessment, it now has a market value of $170 million. Thousands of other businesses also would
see extraordinary spikes in property values, according to an IBJ analysis of the latest assessment data.
Property-tax reassessment may not be fix-all
The property-tax reassessment process that Gov. Mitch Daniels ordered last month will take five months and cost up to $3 million.
But don’t expect it to significantly alter the property-tax equation, warns Franklin Township Assessor Becky Williams, who
also serves as president of the Indiana Assessors Association.
Class A towers paying B taxes
When it comes to advertising and marketing, the city’s two tallest skyscrapers are Class A, all the way. But throw out that
notion at tax time. The owners of Chase Tower and OneAmerica Tower–and some of the city’s other large office buildings–have
successfully lobbied for lower building “grades” that save them big bucks on property taxes.
Property reassessment could be painful process
Indiana’s property tax woes are already a headache for Marion County homeowners. Now the cure is becoming a migraine for area
businesses, local elected officials and regional economic developers, too.
Aging IT system contributes to property-assessment woes
Indiana deliberately chose not to invest the tens of millions necessary for technology that could provide an accurate property-tax
forecast. Instead, the state relied on an aging patchwork of property tax software that allows officials only to guess whether
assessed valuations of homes and businesses are correct.
Dramatic tax hikes predicted for homeowners
A former head of the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance says some Marion County homeowners soon could see property-tax
increases of as much as 50 percent–far higher than government officials estimated. In part, that’s because of Indiana’s decision
five years ago to abolish the inventory tax.
County property tax hit looming
Taxes on Marion County commercial and industrial properties soon may go up sharply. The Indiana Department of Local Government
Finance, which oversees the state property tax system, has ordered a complete reassessment of the county's commercial
and industrial properties.