Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 13 · column 4 of 9 · from the scan, no model involved
wuminuea irom rage 1/ 'raised by critics.
The proposed amendment is primarily directed to the problem of the decline of urban areas. It is based on the premise that the real property tax discourages construction and repair of housing and commercial and industrial buildings.
Urban Blight
Many older cities have not shared in the general economic growth of the past decade. This has affected the property tax base and cities have been forced to make frequent and steep adjustments of the property tax rates to compensate for the lack of growth in property values.
Residential and business buildings in the older parts of urban areas are often poorly maintained and seldom rehabilitated. The amendment presupposes that owners are deterred from improving their property by high property tax rates and the prospect that reassessment might lead to higher valuation and a bigger tax bill, based on improvements.
It should be noted that legislative bodies often grant exemptions and tax relief to accomplish social, economic and political objectives.
Each exemption means a reduction in the tax base, and a corresponding rise in the tax rate if revenue is to remain constant. Since a locality’s revenue needs are not reduced when properties are exempted, the owners of properties that are taxed must make up every cent of the tax relief given to owners of properties that may be exempted. Each exemption contributes to a reduction of the tax base and it is generally agreed that a broad based tax with a lower rate tends to be more equitable than a narrow based tax with a higher rate.
Proponent’s View Those in favor of adoption )f the constitutional
91.6%