How does a revaluation impact distribution of taxes and when? Are there rules of thumb as to which properties are likely to have higher taxes, which lower and which tend to remain the same?
A district-wide revaluation is undertaken when there is a lack of uniformity in the distribution of the local tax burden. The goal of the revaluation is to ensure that all properties pay only their fair share of the tax burden no more and no less. In as much as the new assessment figures are effective January 1st of the year of implementation, evidence of the redistribution of the tax burden will not be seen until the third-quarter billing. It is often said that as a “general rule of thumb” that the revaluation process will result in 1/3 of the properties experiencing an increase in tax, 1/3 a decrease and 1/3 will remain approximately the same. This “general rule” is often broken in the case of municipalities that have “unique enclaves” and those that have experienced substantial new development since the last revaluation.
