NATIONAL

For Local Food Systems To Thrive, Farm Tax Breaks Must Be Harder To Get
Next City
For local and regional food systems to work, the land around cities has to grow food. It sounds obvious, but that's rarely what actually happens. Most U.S. cities' perimeters are occupied with industrial feed crops like corn and soy; low-density sprawl housing with 10-acre lawns; and leisure farms, funded by day jobs in the city, that grow little food even for their owners.

COLORADO

Colo. Property Owners Notch Win In County Tax Fight
Law360
A Colorado appeals panel has ruled that property owners are entitled to revaluations for "unusual conditions" that happen any time between regular tax, giving a win to one of 11 groups challenging county assessors for not lowering their bills due to the pandemic.

FLORIDA

Century Approves 151% Property Tax Increase At Rare Saturday Afternoon Meeting
NorthEscambia.com
No member of the general public attended a public hearing held at 4:30 Saturday afternoon as the council unanimously approved a property tax rate that is 151.68% increase over what's known as the rolled back rate. A millage rate higher than the rolled-back rate is defined by the State of Florida as a tax increase.

ILLINOIS

Amendment 1 could lock in $1.8B commercial property tax hike
Illinois Policy
It won't just be households who pay higher property tax bills if voters OK Amendment 1: property taxes on commercial real estate have been increasing even faster. If property tax increases continue at their recent rate, commercial property owners will shell out an additional $1.8 billion in annual property taxes by 2026.

MICHIGAN

South Haven company granted tax break for $4 million expansion
heraldpalladium.com
South Haven officials have granted a tax break for a company to proceed with a $4 million expansion to its facility. South Haven City Council voted this past Monday to extend a tax abatement to Riveer Environmental to construct a new 22,500-square-foot addition to its manufacturing complex at 233 Veterans Blvd., in the I-196 Business Park.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Taxpayers ask court to block statewide education property tax
New Hampshire Bulletin
In a filing in Grafton Superior Court Wednesday, the taxpayers are asking the court to grant an injunction against the tax to stop it from being implemented next year, arguing that it is not applied fairly between property-rich and property-poor towns and is unconstitutional.

OHIO

New Ohio bill could freeze property taxes for Cuyahoga County seniors, but has long road to passage
cleveland.com
Cuyahoga County may, one day, be able to freeze property taxes for homeowners over the age of 60 and with a total income less than $50,000. Rep. Tom Patton (Rep.) introduced House Bill 726 this week, which would grant counties with populations greater than one million – only Cuyahoga – the ability to apply the tax freeze, if approved by county council and the executive.

PENNSYLVANIA

Eighty percent of college property value tax-exempt, school owns 17 percent of Hill
The Lafayette
While many students choose Lafayette for its small size, few likely know the sheer extent of the school's reach. The college owns 181 individual plots of land, totaling over $100 million in market value and 363 acres that span several neighborhoods and municipalities.

TEXAS

Houston tax incentives skip over neighborhoods in need
Houston Chronicle 
UNFAIR BURDEN: Critics tried reining in lucrative tax incentives in Houston. Nothing worked. In this installment, the Chronicle found that tax increment financing is riddled with the same problems,...

Tax burden shifts from homeowners to others in McLennan County with new exemptions
Waco Tribune Herald
New state and local property tax exemptions worked as intended in McLennan County, dropping total taxes levied on owners with homestead exemptions by almost 3% compared to last year, according to data compiled by the local appraisal district.

WASHINGTON

Washington Supreme Court Rules in Tax Refund Case
National Law Review
The Washington Supreme Court recently held that property tax refund actions must be filed in the superior court of the county where the tax was collected. Hardel Mut. Plywood Corp. v. Lewis Cnty., 515 P.3d 973 (Wash. 2022). At issue in the case were two venue statutes that were in tension with each other.

WISCONSIN

Wisconsin saw record property value increases in 2022. What could that mean for your tax bill?
riponpress.com
Wisconsin property values are up. What does that mean for Ripon and Green Lake? A new data tool from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum found that Wisconsin property values grew by a record 13.8% this year — the largest increase since the 1980s. In 2022, statewide residential property values increased 14.9%