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Show Qarfield County Sales Ratio Assessed at 16 After all property tax adjustments were made last year, Utah came "ery close to meeting the 15 percent assessment objective prescribed for residential property and the 20 percent goal for commercial oroperty. This was reported by Utah Foundation, the private tax research organization in an analysis of the latest Tax Commission sales-'atio study and property tax changes made during 1983. The sales-ratio study just completed by the State Tax Commission indicates that residential property in Garfield County was being-assessed at 16.08 percent, commercial property at 14.43 percent and unimproved property at 13.53 percent last year. According to the study, the overall state average assessment in Utah last year was 15.07 percent for residential property and 19.28 percent for commercial property. Utah law provides that residential property should be assessed at 15 percent and other property classes at 20 percent. These assessment percentages are based on fair market value as rolled back to a 1978 level. Although the state averages came very close to the prescribed legal level for these property classes, there was some variation among the counties, residential assessments ranged from a low of 12.45 percent in Rich County to a high of 18.75 percent in Wayne County. Commercial assessment variations were even greater, ranging from 9.14 percent in Wayne County to 26.64 percent in Piute County. Foundation analysts theorize that the variation may be due in part to the small sample of properties sold In some of the less-populated counties of the state. Property taxes charged in Utah last year were raised by $64 million or 13.6 percent. This was the largest single-year property tax increase in the state's history. This resulted from higher property assessments along with increased property tax rates. The property tax increase was particularly noticeable in the case of business and other nonresidential priypjrty. The Foundation study indicates that the Cessment changes made in Utah last year were the result of (1) the ratification of Proposition I by the Utah voters in 1982, (2) legislation enacted by the Utah Legislature to implement this constitutional amendment, and (3) the factoring adjustments which are prescribed by the State Tax Com mission in every other year. Proposition I made some rather extensive changes in the tax article of the Utah State Constitution. Among other things, this constitutional amendment authorized the State Legislature to exempt up to 45 percent of the value of residential property from taxation. Legislation approved by the 1982 and 1983 season of the Utah Legislature implemented this new provision, but limited the residential exemption initially to 25 percent. The Legislature also limited a 20 percent assessment reduction which previously had been applied to all locally-assessed real prroperty in the state. The net effect of these changes, according to the Foundation, was to reduce the assessment level on residential property from 16 percent to 15 percent, but increase assessments on business and other nonresidential property from 16 (Continued on Page 2) Garfield County Sales Ratio Assessed at 16 (Continued from Page I) percent to 20 percent. These changes established a classified property tax in Utah, whereby residential property receives favored treatment over other property classes. Along with the implementation of the changes prompted by the ratification of Proposition I, the State Tax Commission also ordered assessment changes last year under its biennial factoring program. This factoring program was established in 1981 and is designed to correct assessment inequities that develop among the various counties of the state. These adjustments are needed to facilitate operation of the school finance program in Utah. |