About D.C. Property Taxes

My friend Cristian emailed me with a comment about property taxes here in Washington:

so, we, the District, hae a projected 395 million $ surplus for this fiscal year! that’s about $700 per resident.

the crazy mayor will look first into axing property taxes. wrong idea if you ask me!! can’t wait for him to get out. i have plenty of other ideas…

The problem is, property taxes are rising way too quickly. I got my new assessment yesterday actually. My assessment went up 26%, but because of “tax cuts” in the property tax rate, my taxes are only going to rise by 15%. The first year, that was expected. The second year, it was nice to see some kind of written confirmation that my property was appreciating. This year, it’s not a BIG deal, but in a couple years it could become difficult to afford. My salary’s not rising by 15%!

I’d love for my county initiatives to be fully-funded, but if the tax base rises by ~25% every year, it leaves little incentive to keep your costs down or to prioritize your projects. Remember, in Fairfax County, it’s not like there are 25% more people needing services… it’s not that our schools are in dire need of repair… instead we’re getting ice skating rinks and arboretums and county-sponsored bus trips to New York City.

Of course, Washington D.C.’s schools are in dire need of repair. But that’s also a management issue. Even with unlimited funding, no existing city administrator seems likely to fix that.

There are a lot of states that cap how fast property taxes can rise. Basically, it works like rent control: they limit your assessment increases as long as you own the property. When you sell the property, it’s reset to the current market value for the next owner. If DC doesn’t have a cap like that, then I’d endorse that first and foremost. If that’s in place, then I’d endorse property tax relief programs for low-income homeowners and fixed-income retirees. I’m ambivalent about cutting property taxes beyond that; I’d want to know more about what the mayor was proposing.