Want a refund for your Jackson County property taxes? “That’s not going to happen”
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — Jackson County officials have issued a rebuttal to the Missouri State Tax Commission’s order regarding Jackson County’s property tax assessment, reiterating their claim that the assessment was fair and vowing to fight the STC’s order.
At a press conference Monday morning, county assessor Gail McCann Beatty said one of the problems is the sharp increase in property values due to the strong real estate market.
“Property values in Jackson County have been significantly undervalued for decades,” McCann Beatty said. “Our priority is to correct those (values).”
County Administrator Troy Schulte said the STC’s measure does not solve the problem and ultimately taxpayers will have to pay more for it.
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“I wanted to convince people that they were going to get a nice refund check because of this glaring error, but that’s not going to happen,” Schulte said. “In most cases, you’re going to pay a lot more.”
He said these tax shortfalls would have to be compensated somewhere.
“You’re going to see some people who have had big tax increases pay a little less, but that’s going to be offset by people who may not have seen as big a tax increase paying significantly more,” Shulte said. “And that’s the reality we’re going to have to deal with over the next few months if we don’t find a solution to this.”
Schulte said the county will work with the 57 taxing authorities in Jackson County to fight the order.
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“If we are forced to comply with this order in its current form, we face significant cuts in central services,” said Schulte. “This includes vital areas such as our schools, fire protection and the police.”
Five county deputies said they agree with the STC and will meet Monday afternoon. Some deputies want to prohibit county funds from being used to fight the order.
“They created chaos. And that’s why we have to fix it,” said district representative Manny Abarca. “We have to find common solutions.”
Schulte expressed confidence that the district administration would ultimately win this fight.
“I think we have successfully completed seven out of seven or eight court cases and the outcome has been in our favor,” Schulte said.
ALSO READ: Judge dismisses Jackson County property tax lawsuit
Further reports on problems with tax assessment can be found here: Here.
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