Jeff Taylor at Meck Deck beat me to the Wake County tax rate. Home values are up an average of 43 percent in eight years. The revenue neutral approach would call for a 30 percent cut in rates, to 47? per $100 from 67? per $100. City Council has set a rate of 53?. This equates to a 13 percent increase in taxes paid for the average property owner, or $176 for the person who had a $200,000 house before revaluation.
I am ambivalent on whether property tax revaluations should be revenue neutral or whether rates should be constant through revaluations. It is, however, disappointing that neither the revenue neutral rate nor the tax increase found its way into the N&O’s story.
