Steve Shultz: Tax revenue spin

I had to laugh at the statement from Wake County revenue director Marcus Kinrade in the March 8 news article “Appraisals every 4 years on Wake County agenda.” In supporting the idea to reduce the time between real-estate valuations from eight to four years, Kinrade said: “It’s far more fair to property owners.”

This might be true if values decreased over time. But with property values generally increasing over time, it’s more expensive for me, as a property owner, to have my property appraised every four years versus eight, because I am paying tax based on a higher evaluation. I would much rather pay taxes on a 7- or 8-year-old appraisal than a 2- or 3-year-old appraisal, because the older appraisal will be for a generally lower amount.

It’s disingenuous, at best, to try and spin a more frequent valuation as a benefit to the property owner when it should be seen for what it is: an opportunity to increase tax revenues without the bother and backlash of increasing tax rates.

This story was originally published March 13, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Steve Shultz: Tax revenue spin."