Consultant: Senate Enrolled Act 1 likely to push School Town Speedway tax rates higher, reduce some revenues

Barry Gardner, a consultant with Policy Analytics, told the School Town Speedway Board of Trustees on June 10 that revisions in state law known as Senate Enrolled Act 1 will reduce the district’s net assessed value and, in many cases, force local tax rates higher even if districts do not collect more revenue.

Gardner said the Act increases homeowner deductions, adds a 10% credit on tax liability (capped at $300) for homeowners, and changes how business personal property is reported and taxed. “Spoiler alert, this is going to drive up tax rates,” Gardner said. He added: “It’s the net assessed value times the tax rate gives me my revenue.”

The consultant said those changes will phase in over six years and will reduce the taxable base that school districts and other local governments draw on to produce revenue. Among the specifics Gardner described: state policy is moving away from a $48,000 standard homeowner…