As people in Saint Louis County continue to appeal their assessments, the city of Blue Springs on the other side of the state is considering a proposal to raise its property tax rate in response to declining assesments. This is the perfect time for us to release a major policy study and an op-ed on property taxation, with a closely related case study and video coming online in a few days.
I admire the people throughout Missouri who fight for their rights to a fair assessment. That doesn’t mean the counties are always wrong, although given the problems in Jackson County you might assume they are. I also admire the people who stand up in cities like Blue Springs and argue for government cuts instead of property tax increases. I’ll readily admit the fact that the proposed increase is small, but if taxpayers and voters acquiesce to every tax increase just because they are small, they will see a lot of small tax increases.
