Show I. I Uintah C County Pr Property perty Assessed at of Pric Price Locally assessed property In Uintah County aunty is being assessed on the average at 1265 per cent of Its selling price For the state as a whole the average aver age assessment ratio for all property Is 1567 per cent THESE FACTS were presented in an analysis by Utah Foundation the private private vate tax research organization of a arc recent recent re re- cent assessment sales assessment sales ratio study published pub published by the Utah State Tax Commission Commis sion sion Foundation analysts report that there is considerable variation in the average assessment levels for the different classes class class- es of property in Utah For example residential property in Uintah County currently is being assessed at 14 1436 36 per percent percent percent cent of selling price price This compares with average assessment levels of 10 1095 95 per cent for commercial property 10 1052 52 per cent for unimproved lots and 9 86 per cent for parcels over five acres J mainly farm properties or large unimproved unimproved un un- improved tracts The Foundation notes that the Tax Commission study did not include assessment assessment as as- ratios for personal property machinery motor vehicles etc and andI properties assessed directly by the state These property classes currently are I being assessed at 26 per cent to 28 per percent percent percent cent of market or fair cash value M INVENTORY assessments however are in the process of being phased out Under the 1969 inventory tax repeal law assessments on inventories are reduced reduced re reo to 20 per cent in 1970 14 per percent percent percent cent in 1971 and eight per cent in 1972 I After January 1 1973 inventories willbe will willbe willbe be completely exempt in Utah Household House t hold furnishings of owner occupied dwellings dwellings dwell dwell- ings have been exempt from the property pro property perty tax in Utah since 1959 I IN ADDITION to variations among property classes the Foundation indicates indicates indi indi- cates that there are also considerable differences in assessment levels among t. t counties The overall average assessment assess assess- 4 ment ratios for locally assessed real property in Utah range from a low of I per cent in Wasatch to a high of 17 1730 30 per cent in Sevier County The Foundation attributes this variation variation varia varra tion in assessment levels to rapidly changing land and property values in I some of the counties coupled with out out- date of-date assessments on many of the locally locally assessed assessed properties RECENT TAX Commission reappraisal sal efforts have been concentrated In counties that appear to be particularly out of line with state averages For example example ex ex- ample the first two counties reassessed Summit and Wasatch have the lowest assessment levels in the state ONE OF the stated aims of the State Tax Commission according to the Foundation Foundation Foun Foun- dation has been to raise the general level of local assessments in Utah to 20 per cent of reasonable fair cash value Although the average assessment level for all improved property in the state was gradually raised from 1589 per cent of selling price in 1961 to 17 1798 98 per cent in m 1967 the average assessment assessment assess assess- ment ratio slipped back to 16 1698 98 per percent percent percent cent in 1970 Foundation analysts attribute attribute bute this latest decline mainly to the fact that real estate values have been rising faster than assessments during the past few years |