Legality of tax assessment freezes challenged

Posted 2:50PM on Monday 21st October 2002 ( 22 years ago )

ATLANTA - The Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments Monday over whether freezing property taxes for longtime homeowners is fair to new residents and the poor. The Supreme Court's decision could affect more than a dozen cities and counties across the state that have approved laws freezing a home's assessed value, which is used to calculate property taxes, at the time of purchase. The problem with the law in Columbus-Muscogee County is that neighbors who own homes of identical value may pay vastly different amounts of taxes, said Teresa Roseborough, an attorney for the Columbus-Muscogee Tax Equalization Foundation, which filed the suit in 2000. "To allow an entrenched minority to hoist its burden on unsuspecting newcomers violates the spirit of both the Georgia and U.S. constitutions," she said. "Spreading the tax burden out over everybody doesn't cost that much more for any one person." But lawyers for the city, which appealed a Superior Court judge's ruling that the property tax freeze is unconstitutional, said it's perfectly fair - and legal - for residents to vote on who pays the government bills. City voters overwhelmingly approved the law in 1982. Under the law, if someone bought a home valued at $150,000, they would continue to pay taxes based on that value. If they sold the home years later for $200,000, the buyer would pay higher taxes based on that price. The freeze lasts until the owner sells the home or improves it through renovations. "People were literally getting run out of their homes," said Chuck Palmer, arguing on behalf of the city. "Minorities strongly support and are benefited by this tax freeze." Roseborough contended that minorities suffered from the tax freeze because they are more likely to be renters who are not protected. Any tax assessment increase would be passed on in their rent bills. The roots of democracy lie in the people's ability to decide how they are taxed without interference from the courts, said former Georgia Supreme Court Justice Harold G. Clark, an attorney for the city. Longtime homeowners have a right to know how much they will owe on next year's property taxes. "It frees them from surprises down the road - the surprise of tax assessments," he said. The seven-member court could take several months to make a decision in the case.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/10/188647