News
Blue Mountain Eagle
REVENUE
Continued from Page A1
the Oregon Department of
Revenue, and put limits on
how much a property’s as-
sessed value could increase
from year to year.
The state’s cities advo-
cate a “transition” back to
real market value-based
calculations and for permit-
ting local voters to approve
rates exceeding the limits
established by Measure 5.
Without a reduction
in tax rates, the proposal
would lead to higher prop-
erty taxes. According to the
League of Oregon Cities,
there is a state average of
a 25 percent difference be-
tween the real market value
of property and its assessed
value.
The Legislature is also
looking at a homestead
exemption, which could
cushion homeowners from
sudden tax leaps on their
primary residences.
Cities contend Measures
5 and 50 have meant that
owners of similarly priced
properties can pay signifi-
cantly disparate amounts in
taxes, and that cities have
to compete with other local
jurisdictions, such as coun-
ties and fire protection dis-
tricts, for key funding.
Even if residents of a
city support measures to
pay for local libraries or to
build a new police station,
for example, the total tax
rate per $1,000 of assessed
valuation can’t exceed the
state limits.
The proposal could also
lead to greater increases
in assessments. Assessed
valuations — due to the
requirements of Measure
50 — typically grow at a
slower rate than real mar-
ket value. On the other
hand, when the real estate
market dips, so do real
market values.
A senate resolution,
Senate Joint Resolution 3,
proposes repealing Mea-
sure 50 and replacing it
with a real market val-
ue-based system.
“We would support that
in theory,” said Wendy
Johnson, an intergovern-
mental relations associate
for the League of Oregon
Cities, noting that the de-
tails have not been ironed
out.
That resolution is the
first placeholder bill in
what cities expect to be a
broader property tax reform
package, Johnson said.
OREGON CAPITAL
INSIDER
Get the inside
scoop on state
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Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Grant
County
Assessor
David
Thunell
shows one
of the files
he keeps
on every
property in
the county,
listing real
market and
assessed
values.
The Eagle
Sean Hart
year, unless voters approved
higher increases.
TAX
Continued from Page A1
A property worth $50,000
would pay half the tax of a
property worth $100,000.
The tax rates charged
by each district could vary
from year to year. If the bud-
get committee determined
$100,000 was needed and
the property values in the
district totaled $1,000,000,
the rate would be 10 per-
cent. If $150,000 was need-
ed for the same property
values, the rate would be
15 percent.
Most levies, however,
were limited to a maximum
growth rate of 6 percent per
Measure 5 — $15 limit
In 1990, Oregon voters
approved Measure 5, a con-
stitutional amendment limit-
ing property taxes to a total
of $15 per $1,000 of real
market value — up to $10 for
general government and $5
for education.
Taxes were still based on
the levy system, unless the
resulting tax rate exceeded
these limits. If either educa-
tion or general government
taxes exceeded its limit,
property owners would pay
only that maximum rate,
rather than a proportion of
the levy.
Measure 50
— assessed value
Measure 50, approved by
voters in 1997, ended the
levy system, established per-
manent tax rates for all the
districts and separated as-
sessed value from real mar-
ket value.
Assessed values for each
property in 1997-98 were set
at 90 percent of the 1995-96
real market value. Assessed
values were limited to a
3-percent increase each year.
Although taxes were based on
the reduced assessed value,
the Measure 5 limits remained
tied to real market value.
Instead of levies with vari-
able tax rates, a permanent tax
rate was calculated for each
district using a complex for-
mula based on what the dis-
tricts would have raised under
the old system, while incorpo-
rating a tax cut, and dividing
the total by the new assessed
values. These permanent rates
multiplied by the assessed
values of properties are still
used to compute property tax-
es today.
Special assessments
and exemptions
Certain properties are as-
sessed differently, such as those
designated for farm or forest
use, and exemptions also re-
duce tax amounts for certain
people or properties.
In 1999, the Oregon Leg-
islature established the forest-
land program as a special tax
assessment, and changes were
made to calculations for farm
use special assessments. Al-
though taxes are still based on
the assessed value and the real
market value is still the estimat-
ed selling price, for these spe-
cial assessments the Measure 5
limits are based on the reduced
special assessment, known as
the Measure 5 value, instead of
the real market value.
After the amount of tax due
for a property is calculated, ex-
emptions — such as those for
veterans — reduce the amount
due for those who qualify.
R obbins Farm Equipment
05326
A12
3850 10th St.
Baker City
10218 Wallowa Lake Hwy.
La Grande
1160 S Egan
Burns
86812 Christmas Valley Hwy.
Christmas Valley
541-523-6377
541-963-6577
541-573-6377
541-523-6377