It may not be a sexy issue, but a state senator says that if a ballot proposition concerning local property tax rates doesn’t receive voter approval, homeowners in some tax jurisdictions could face steep property tax increases and have no recourse.


“If [Proposition] 101 fails, then we’re at the mercy of the local government to be nice and, on their own, not increase property taxes,” Sen. Dean Martin, R-6, said. “101 is the way to make sure your property tax doesn’t go up next year.”

A voter-approved cap on property tax levies will become official Monday. And a private foundation is looking to put the same limits on taxes for flood control districts and libraries.


Proposition 101 - the Taxpayer Protection Act - was passed by voters earlier this month by a slim seven-tenths of 1 percent margin. Prop. 101 limits the primary property tax levied by counties to the previous year's amount plus up to two percent for growth. A greater increase can be implemented but the county must first get approval from the voters.

Property-valuation notices recently went out in the mail, so it's time for businesses to pull out their calculators.


Owners of commercial properties likely will find the valuation exercise more critical this year than will homeowners.

For one thing, businesses have more ways to challenge an assessment. For another, commercial valuations rose at a higher clip than residential properties over the past year.

If you've seen homes selling for less in your neighborhood lately, you might be thinking there's a silver lining. Your home could be worth less, so your taxes might be less, too. Right?


The answer is an unqualified maybe.

Homeowners in Maricopa County got an envelope in the mail last week showing their homes' new assessed value. And on average, that value is up. Not the 52 percent rise of the boom days, but still up, 13.4 percent overall.

Figuring out what that means for your taxes is a trickier proposition.

Over the past few days, Debbie Cox, a Realtor in Surprise, has received more than a dozen faxes and phone calls from worried clients.


It's that time of year when the Maricopa County Assessor's Office mails out property valuation notices, and some homeowners were surprised at what they saw for 2008.

West Valley cities saw some of the metropolitan area's highest increases in single-family home valuations, which could mean higher property taxes next year.

On Tuesday, Maricopa County residents will start getting the news: Your homes are worth a lot more, and you're likely to be paying more in property taxes.


More than 1.3 million notices of property values will begin hitting Maricopa County mailboxes, bringing news that's sure to cause delight and consternation.

It will be unknown how these latest valuations will translate into taxes until local governments set their budgets and lock in tax rates in August 2007. Property owners will receive tax bills for the new assessments a month or so later.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Thousands of Pima County homeowners will see increases of $100,000 or more in the tax value of their homes in their 2008 valuation notices, officials said.


The notices being mailed this week are based on home sales that occurred in 2005 and 2006, at the height of the hot housing market.

The tax rates that are adopted this summer will be applied to these values in 2008. Taxes paid this year will be based on last year's values.

PRESCOTT: The telephones at the Yavapai County Assessor's Office have not stopped ringing since property owners received Notices of Value for the 2008 tax year.


Some property owners are concerned about an increase in the full cash value of their property and the lack of a formula to determine the increase.

Charles Phillips and Stan Rowley are curious about the how the assessor's office determines Full Cash Value.

KINGMAN - A statewide group of residents is fed up with the Arizona property tax system. Arizona Tax Revolt will be circulating an initiative in the next few weeks to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot.


"People have budgets. They budget so much for groceries, bills and other items every month. They budget for their property taxes. They expect them to be so much," said Marc Goldstone, chair of Arizona Tax Revolt.

If you have received your Notice of Value from the Mohave County Assessor for 2008, you may be like me and understand better why our forefathers threw the tea in the Boston Harbor in revolt! I don't recall all the details of that time, but I do remember it had to do with unfair taxation, and it was the first thing that came to mind when I read my tax notice. In talking with people around town, it appears that many feel the same.