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Show Property Tax Levy Declines For Moab Taxpayers This Year? The total property tax rate imposed for city, county, school, and other purposes in Moab declined by 4.47 mills this year, according to an analysis prepared by Utah Foundation, the private tax research organization. Foundation analysts hasten to point out, however, that the mill levy reduction within Moab this year was prompted by the higher assessments which resulted from the property revaluation program that became effective in the county during 1975. Under Utah law, operating levies must be adjusted downward whenever higher assessments are applied under the revaluation revalua-tion program. The lower mill rate does not mean a tax recuction for all taxpayers, however. In many cases the correction of underassessments underassess-ments for some taxpayers more than offsets the mill levy reductions. Moab's overall property tax levy in 1975 is 78.03 mills ($78.03 per $1,000 assessed valuation). This compared with a total levy of 82.50 mills in 1974 and 79.60 mills in 1970. The following tabulation shows the trend in Moab's total rate for selected years since 1950. In 1950, 49.50; 1960, 81.40; 1965, 77.50; 1970. 79.60; 1974, 82.50; 1975, 78.03. Approximately 52.8 of the total property taxes charged in Moab this year will go for school purposes. The Foundation Founda-tion report indicates that 24.9 percent of the property tax collected in Moab will go for municipal purposes, 17.9 percent per-cent for county purposes, and 4.3 percent for special district purposes. A comparison of the 1974 and 1975 levies in Moab by purpose is as follows: Municipal, 1974, 24.00; 1975, 19.50; School, 1974, 39.00; 1975, 41.19; Counrv. 1974. 15.50; 1975, 14.00; Special District, 1974 , 4.00, 1975, 3.34; Total for 1974 is 82.50; Total for 1975 is 78.03. Except for counties that were reappraised, the Foundation Founda-tion analysis notes that total property tax mill rates rose in most of the major Utah communities during 1975. An examination of the 1975 tax rates charged in the 45 largest Utah municipalities that were not reassessed during the year reveals that the overall tax rate rose in 36 cities, declined in only 7 cities, and remained unchanged in 2 cities. The total average levy in these 45 communities increased by 2.53 mills, from 80.46 mills ($80.46 per $1,000 assessed valuation) in 1974 to 82.99 mills in 1975. Foundation analysts observe that earlier this year, the 1975 Utah Legislature enacted leg-eslation leg-eslation which raised the local option sales tax rate, providing counties and municipalities with a 50 percent increase in funds from this source. Altogether, Alto-gether, it was expected that an added $10 14 million a year would be provided to local units from this increase. During the legislative debates regarding the change, it was argued that the added revenue from the local sales tax would allow cities and counties to reduce their property tax levies. While a few municipalities made token reductions in their city levies because of the added sales tax fund, the Foundation report indicates that the additional sales tax revenue going to municipalities municipali-ties and counties has not prompted any general reduction reduc-tion in local property tax levies. In fact, considerably more counties and municipalities municipali-ties have raised their levies in 1975 than have reduced them, despite the increase in the local sales tax. Of the 25 counties that were not reappraised this year, 18 "ft counties raised their levies ' only two counties lowered their levies, and five counties r made no change. A total of 168 f cities and towns are located in the 25 counties not affected by ' reappraisal changes this year, f. Of these municipalities, 28 V increased their levies, 15 , reduced their levies, and 125 i made no change in 1975. j |