Property tax?

Question

Why and how often is property tax levied?

What are the goods its collected on?

Is it collected by individual states? If we move to a different state is it collected as per state rules?

Answer 1

Property tax is levied and collected by the town/city you live in. Sometimes there can also be district taxes and county taxes on top of the town/city tax. It is assessed on Real Estate property (house you live in, apartment building you own, shopping plaza you own, factory building you own, etc.) You have to be the owner of the property to be liable for the property taxes. The Property tax is based on the value of the property multiplied by a tax rate (usually there are people who come out and put a $$ amount on what they feel the property is worth, and the tax is based on that).
It is charged by towns/cities to help them raise money to pay for services that the towns/cities offer it's citizens (schools, police, fire, trash, roads, etc.). The towns/cities get revenues from other sources (grants from federal and state government, fees, services, fines, other taxes, etc), but the majority of revenues are typically taxes on Property. Usually it is charged twice a year, but some towns/cities charge them 4 times a year. Each town/city collects Property taxes on the property in the town/city from the property owners. If you move from one town/city to another and sell one house and buy another you are liable for the property taxes for the house that you own. If you own more than one house you are still liable for the property taxes for each house you own. You would pay them to the town/city that the property is physically located in. Each town/city sets it's own tax rate, usually with approval on the rate from the state government.

Answer 2

Property tax is levied on real estate. There are annual taxes, often with part of it due on two different dates during the year. It's based on the assessed value of the property.

If you are talking about personal property taxes, that varies by state, both in what it's collected on (cars is common) and on how much it is and when it's collected.

Answer 3

Property tax is levied by COUNTIES, not states (which may charge state income tax or sales tax, or both in addtition to other taxes).

The tax is charged on the assessed value of realty and improvements (like a building, maybe a drainage ditch, etc.)

Tax is charged by the COUNTY, not the state, and it is usually assessed annually, but paid twice a year. It is a local income tax, and taxpayers may deduct it on Schedule A (Itemized Deductions).

PERSONAL property tax is usually levied on businesses for the assets they own by nearly everybody: city, county, and state. Personal property taxes may be levied on furniture, copier machines, etc., and also on individuals for their DMV licenses, etc.

Answer 4

The government is going to introduce property tax next year, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) announced yesterday adding that the move will help reduce the rich-poor gap.

Any person having more than one house or a flat in metropolitan areas will have to pay the property tax. NBR already collected information about who owns how many houses and flats in Dhaka Metropolitan City.

Additional tax will also be imposed on lands in the metropolitan areas, but the ceiling for tax free land ownership has not been determined yet, said an NBR high official adding that the property tax will be two to three percent of the value of a taxable property.

There will be no property tax on agricultural land, said NBR Chairman Nasiruddin Ahmed at a media briefing yesterday in his office.

In a bid to increase its revenue earning the government is moving to introduce new income tax and value added tax (VAT) laws.

In the drafts of the new laws NBR proposed imposition of various new taxes including the property tax.

The chairman of the board said the new tax will help build a more equitable society.

Economists, however, expressed mixed reaction to the proposal. They said the government initiative to collect more revenue is good, but it has to ensure that tax payers are getting proper services from the state.

In the draft laws, property tax on valuables like jewellery and expensive watches were also proposed, but the NBR chairman said in the final draft, valuables other than houses, flats, and lands will be exempted.

A structure for imposing the new tax will be prepared later.

NBR Member Basir Uddin Ahmed said, "We have already collected information from different sources about ownerships of houses in Dhaka. Later, tax will be imposed on the basis of the collected data."

Replying to a question as to whether imposition of the property tax will hamper investment, the NBR member said it will encourage investors to invest in productive sectors instead of purchasing many houses or flats.

At the briefing NBR Commissioner Barrister Jahangir Hossain, and First Secretary Apurba Kanti presented different aspects of the two proposed laws.

"The new income tax law will come into effect from July next year," the NBR chairman said.

He also said they already started discussions with lawmakers about the proposed laws. The draft laws are posted on the NBR website to solicit people's opinions.

He said the laws will be enacted in a participatory way on the basis of opinions from the people of all sections of the society.

Research Director of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Zaid Bakht told The Daily Star, "The government will have to ponder whether imposition of the property tax will give impetus to the growth of the underground economy, due to people's tendency to avoid taxes. Generally, I think, it may not bode well for the economy."

He also said the government's move to increase revenue collection is good, but it has to make sure that the basic services such as water, electricity and gas are ensured for the public. If these cannot be ensured, it may be an unpopular move, he added.

Head of Research of the Centre for Policy Dialogue Fahmida Khatun said, "Tax has to be collected from areas untouched by our revenue collection system. Seen from this angle imposition of property tax is a positive move."

She said in Bangladesh, ownership of property is concentrated. As a result imposition of such a tax is justified, but the taxation should be progressive, meaning commensurate to income, and value of a property.

She also said whether the government is properly providing services to the public with the revenue it collects, is an old debate. But even then the people have to pay taxes for whatever services the government is providing, she added.

She said on one hand the state has to improve its services to the people, and on the other hand citizens must contribute to the growth of government's revenue earning, so it may improve the services.........Property Management Bendigo