Bill caps assessment increases

An important property tax reform bill is moving through our Missouri Legislature that needs your help to get legislators' attention. Senate Bill 99/501, the Predictable Property Tax Act, if passed by our legislature, would allow Missourians to vote to place limits on assessment growth to 2 percent or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. The result would be that unreasonable increases in assessed valuation would be stopped, having a positive impact on slowing property tax growth. Many Missourians are being driven out of their homes as a result of the increases in property taxes that they cannot afford.

Even in Missouri's rural areas, assessed valuations and property tax increases are outpacing citizens' ability to pay them. Please call your state senator and tell him or her to call state Sen. Carl Vogel, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, and ask that he move SB 99/501 out of committee. Without that, the bill will die and not even have a chance for honest debate on the Senate floor. You can go to our website at www.stlcountytaxrelief.com to view a summary of the bill. You can also click to find a direct link to your elected official's contact information.

All Missourians need to stand together now to help stop the impact that unreasonable assessment increases are having on increased property taxes, driving many out of the homes and communities they helped build.

SARAH HAENNI, Director of Communications, Tax Relief Now, Kirkwood, Mo.