This homesteading bit on our property taxes is a machiavellian plot between
the cities and the rural counties to plump the revenues from renters and
cabin owners. Apparently the office holders feel pretty safe about this.
The renters in the cities pay their property taxes indirectly and never see
the bill. Even if they are aware the places they live in are taxed at a
higher rate they may not vote anyway. The cabin owners are probably aware
they are being taxed at a higher rate than their neighbors as they do see
the bill, but they usually don't live in the county their cabin is in and
can't vote for against anything where their cabins are.
I'd like to see this stripped out when the legislature looks at property
taxes with the legislature next year. Similar properties should be taxed at
the same rate regardless of who lives there and how often.
Rich Chandler - Ward 9
> -----Original Message-----
> From: craig miller
> Note the following facts.
> 1. If a $200,000 4 - plex non-homestead sits across the street from my
> house (valued @ $200, 00 ) we can observe that the 4 plex will pay about
> $6,000 in property taxes. The homesteaded house will pay about $2,200 in
> prop taxes.
>
> This is to add to what was posted by Colin Hamilton in reply to Tim
> Bonham's post ("the tax bite from referendums like this is entirely on the
> residents; business property is completely exempt from these additional
> taxes.") This is not true. Commercial property owners will, in fact, pay
> increased property taxes if the referendum passes. The tax levy is based
> on market value. For every $100,000 of market value (either commercial or
> residential property), owners will pay $56.71 annually in years 5-25 for
> the Library Referendum.
>
> Commercial property owners pay more than half of the property taxes
> collected in the City of Minneapolis. Based on 2000 Property Tax dollars,
> the proportion is as follows:
> Commercial & other property = 54.5%
> Single family, homesteaded = 27.3%
> Apartments (non-homesteaded) = 12%
> Multi-unit, homesteaded (e.g. duplex or fourplex, owner occupied) = 2.2%
> Multi-unit, non-homesteaded = 2.2%
> Single family, non-homesteaded = 1.8%
