Think your property taxes are high? They are, according to a study released Tuesday based on updated census data.
NANCY HICKS and MATT OLBERDING / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 7:00 pm
Think your property taxes are high? They are, according to a study released Tuesday based on a national survey.
Nebraska has the second highest average tax bill on homes in the nation, when the tax is measured as a percentage of home values, according to the study by the Tax Foundation.
The state ranks a little lower on other methods of measuring the property tax bite for a home owner, but still in the top 20.
Nebraska’s three largest counties also ranked in the top quarter of 788 high population counties in comparisons of property taxes on homes.
Lancaster County ranked 57th on median property taxes paid as a percentage of home value.
The county’s median home tax bill of $2,716, was 1.9 percent of the median home price of $143,700, based on data collected in 2007. (The median in the halfway point between the highest and lowest tax bills.)
“It’s disturbing but not surprising,” said Omaha state Sen. Tom White about the study.
As an historically agricultural state, owning more land in Nebraska meant you would have more income and could afford to pay more taxes on that property, White said.
That direct correlation is no longer always true, he said.
White said his constituents tell him, “If I’m making more money, I can pay more income taxes. If I’m not making as much money, I can stay out of the store (thus avoiding sales taxes). But I’m completely at their mercy on property taxes.”
The study also doesn’t reflect a state property tax credit, which reduced all property taxes, not just on homes, by about 8 percent.
Gov. Dave Heineman pointed to that two-year property tax credit, provided by state senators and the governor, as one way to reduce the property tax burden.
But he also pointed out the responsibility of local elected leaders.
“Local units of government have to control their spending,” he said.
“Just as we (state government) held spending to 4.5 percent, local units of government have to control their spending.
Property tax is used to pay for local services; the property tax rates are set by local governments, including school boards, city councils and county boards. About 60 percent of local property taxes goes to help pay for local schools.
State government relies on income and sales taxes.
Two years ago, White offered a different property tax credit, focused on owner-occupied homes only, but it failed to get out of the Revenue Committee.
White said he is considering several other options to help control property tax growth, including requiring a unified hearing on all property taxes in the county.
The Tax Foundation bills itself as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that monitors fiscal policy at the federal, state and local levels.
Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com. Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.