by IBR Staff Report, Idaho Business Review
07/03/2006
With the click of a mouse, Ada County residents watch an educational video about Idaho’s property tax system.
Anyone who visits www.adaweb.net will have access to an eight-minute video that explains how Ada County properties are appraised and how their values are assessed. The video also explains special taxing districts, how tax levies are set, and where property tax dollars are spent once they are collected.
People interested in learning more about the state’s tax system will find a special link to the video posted in the “County Spotlight” box on the homepage. Due to file size, the video is best viewed with a high-speed or broadband Internet connection.
“We want to make sure property owners have all the facts when it comes to navigating Idaho’s complicated tax law,” says Ada County Commissioner Fred Tilman.
One topic viewers will learn more about is the authority of special taxing districts.
Currently in Ada County, there are 49-separate taxing districts that include school districts, fire districts, irrigation districts, libraries, cemeteries, cities and Ada County.
Each district is given the authority to use property tax dollars to fund its annual budget. By law, budgets cannot increase by more than 3 percent over the previous year’s total. That budget total is then used to calculate how much each property owner (located with the specific tax district) must pay to fully fund the budget. The law does not permit the collection of tax dollars in excess of a taxing district’s budget.
The Idaho Association of Counties, in conjunction with Boise State University, produced and funded the educational video in June of last year. Copies of the video have been made available to all of Idaho’s 44 counties.
No comments:
Post a Comment