Soon, the rebuilding will begin in the bowl that is New
Orleans. But there should be some fascinating dialogue about the
role of public housing and how it will be paid for if they
rebuild. Will those on
the public dole that have been evacuated return? How will
property tax valuations be handled? What about appeals? Now
that folks will have very little property left how will the land value
be determined? This disaster really illustrates some of the
problems with property taxes. If enough appeals are upheld
because property has become worthless, how will the infrastructure
costs be handled? Below are the property tax guidelines for the
state of Louisiana (some fun with highlighting):
Taxpayers having property in the
state of Louisiana are required to file a property tax return
with the assessor of any parish and any municipality levying
a tax on or before April 1 or within 45 days of receipt of the
return form, whichever is later, furnishing values as of Jan.
1.
Property subject to ad valorem taxation is listed on the assessment rolls at its assessed valuation,
which, less some exceptions, is a percentage of its fair market
value. The percentage of fair market value is uniform throughout
the state upon the same class of property.
The following classifications of
property are subject to ad valorem taxation at the designated
percentage of fair market value applicable:
- Land, 10 percent
- Improvements for residential purposes, 10 percent
- Electric cooperative properties, excluding land, 15 percent
- Public service properties, excluding land, 25 percent
- Other property, 15 percent
Louisiana offers a homestead exemption
on the first $75,000 of the value of a person’s primary residence.
The exemption, however, does not usually apply to municipal
taxes.
