Friends,
Most homeowners
have received letters from the town with new, significantly increased,
assessed taxable values.
It is important to
understand that a tax rate is set each year based on the money the town
needs to collect through property taxes divided by the total taxable
property value in town.
So, your tax bill
does not automatically go up when your assessed taxable value goes up. It
really depends on how the value of your property changes compared to others
in town and how the town budget changes from year to year.
When the Budget
Commission submitted the 2020-2021 budget to the Town Council, they
computed an estimated tax rate of $8.20 compared to the current $9.23.
For example, if
your property was previously assessed at $264,200 and the new assessed
value is $331,900 your taxes would be computed as follows
Current Taxes:
$264,200 X $9.23 = $2,438.57
Estimated
2020-2021 Taxes: $331,900 X $8.20 = $2,721.58
or an increase of
about $283.
The actual tax
rate for the 2020-2021 fiscal year will be finalized after any changes are
made following the Budget Public Hearing and the budget is approved by the
voters.
Jodi Frank,
Chairperson, Charlestown Residents United
|