PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

I am going to start this newsletter with reference to an article on “Truth in Taxation” which isa concept that I consider to be particularly important and helpful in connection with the issue of transparency which, as most practitioners will be well aware, is a major problem in many property tax systems around the world.

The article is titled “Truth in Taxation: A Solution to the Growing Property Tax Problem” and was written by Matthew Putnam. It is too long to include here in its entirety, but I will share some selected extracts with you.

The Executive Summary states: “Truth in Taxation legislation, created in Utah in 1985 and subsequently adopted in Nebraska and Kansas, has proven effective at countering increasing property taxes in an inflationary environment. Prior to the institution of Truth in Taxation - a combination of levy limit and public notice - in Utah, taxpayers in the state were facing some of the highest property tax rates in the country. Following the implementation of Truth in Taxation, Utah is now consistently among the states with the lowest property taxes in the country; in 2021, Utah was ranked the state with the seventh lowest property tax rate.

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