Taxes increase for non-primary residents

[Gazette Blog Editor's note: You might want to check your recently received Gila County property tax bill to see if you are impacted by the following.  But remember, both houses of your state legislature and the governor's office are firmly controlled by the Republican Party.]
 
(GLOBE, AZ)— The Arizona legislature last year passed House Bill 2001 and was signed into law by the Governor that created a new legal class for residential property. 

This new legal class 4.1 is for residential property that is not the owner’s primary residence and for residential property that is owned by a financial institution. The new legal class is found in Arizona Revised Statute 42-12004 Section 1.
 
Previously a person owning multiple residential properties would receive the homeowner’s rebate, commonly known as Less State Aid to Education, on each residential property, as long as a residential property was not rented to someone who was not a member of the owner’s family per Arizona Revised Statute 42-12053.

The new legislation means that all secondary residences, such as personal use vacation homes, and residences owned by financial institutions in Gila County and throughout the state of Arizona will see a change in their 2012 Property Tax Bills.
 
The loss of the Less State Aid to Education could mean an increase in a property tax bill as much as $600.00. The actual increase in property taxes for a property for class 4.1 is dependent on the Limited Property Value of each property and the School District the property is located in.

A Non-Primary Residence Tax Bill will increase on average based on the average Net Assessed Value of a Non-Primary Residence within the following school districts:
Payson Unified School District: $188.96
Globe Unified School District: $87.32
Young Unified School District: $190.14
Pine-Strawberry Unified School District: $63.21
Tonto Basin School District: $87.06
Miami Unified School District: $56.21
Hayden-Winkelman Unified School District: $96.20

Since the state has created this new legal classification, the only residential property that will stillreceive the homeowner’s rebate is legal class 3, owner occupied and/or family member occupied property used as their primary residence.

For more information, you can contact Mr. Larry Huffer at (928) 402-8716 or Ms. Hazel Dillon at (928) 402-8711, with the Gila County Assessor’s Office. Within Arizona, you may dial (800) 304-4452, ext. 8716, or 8711.