PAXTON — Thanks to increased home values, taxpayers will again have the euphoria of seeing the tax rate decline, only to have the math arrive at a higher tax bill this year, an average hike of $123.
Because the tax rate is only a factor used to calculate individual tax bills, the higher values, and the higher tax bill created by the town budget, create the lower rate.
Last year, the tax rate of $17.58 per thousand dollars of value on a single family home, with an average value of $412,579, created a tax bill of $7,253.14, according to Principal Assessor Kateri Clute.
This year the tax rate, which Clute said had been approved by the state Department of Revenue, is $16.07, but the average home value has risen to $459,020, with the math yielding a tax bill of $7,376.45.
When home values decrease, the tax rate generally goes the other way, increasing, and, of course the tax bill increases, based on increased town budgets.
An individual can calculate their tax bill by taking the assessed value and multiplying by the rate to arrive at the tax bill. Assessors across the Commonwealth are going through that same process to get tax bills mailed out, which is a mathematical exercise based on the total town valuations and the tax levy approved by town voters.
The tax increases will be included in the second two of four tax bills for the tax year; the first two tax bills used the previous year’s rate.
Each year the Select Board has to take several votes, which could affect the bills, based on factors such as split rates and exemptions.
The Select Board opted to continue Paxton’s tradition, including a single tax rate for all property. A split rate can decrease the proportion of taxes for residents and increase it for businesses, but smaller towns tend to have limited business. That means any meaningful decrease in residential rates would result in a substantial increase for the small percentage of business properties, which can also affect things like farms and open space.
