COVINGTON, Kentucky – Kenton County is lowering its property taxes for the fourth consecutive year, reaching the lowest rate since 1983.
The Kenton County Fiscal Court has decided to reduce the property tax rate by 6% for 2024. This is the fourth consecutive year the Fiscal Court has reduced its rate, increasing from 13.3 cents per $100 of value to 12.5 cents.
“The amount of money coming out of homeowners’ pockets is likely to remain the same, if not less, than before, even as property values have increased,” said Kris Knochelmann, executive judge of Kenton County.
He said that the tax court has been trying to bring its revenues back into balance for two years. The two main sources of revenue are property tax and wage tax or trade tax.
“As costs continue to rise, the burden of this will be less placed on the property owners and residents of Kenton County,” Knochelmann said.
He said that as property values have risen, it has reached a point where more than two-thirds of revenue comes from property taxes. Knochelmann said that is more than most counties in the region that rely more heavily on payroll taxes.
“It puts more of the burden on those who don’t live here. And a large percentage, the majority of workers in Kenton County, are non-residents. So we want to try to balance that out,” Knochelmann said.
He said the county intends to continue lowering property taxes, which he believes will help encourage more people to live in Kenton County.
In October 2023, the Tax Court passed a law to reduce the county’s business tax rate and eliminate the county’s net profit tax.
