Maine Property Taxes Being Eyed For Steep Increases

With the local real estate market booming, it's nice to see how much you could sell for if you desired, the flip side of that is Augusta and many other cities and towns around the state have also taken notice and may feel like this is a great time for a property revaluation.

With the increase in value on residential properties, this could mean a tax increase, and for many on a fixed income the increase could even force some people out of their homes as the tax burden becomes more than they can bear.

To add insult to injury, commercial properties have not increased in value as dramatically therefore, some commercial real estate could actual have a lower tax burden according to a report by centralmaine.com

Offering some comfort should the revaluation effect low income elderly residents who would be most effected by a tax increase are several programs such as property tax credits and the circuit breaker program. There is also hope that there might be a future remedy put forth by the state should it effect enough Mainers.

Maine cities and towns say their hands are tied as well, with state laws mandating that they can not allow property value assessments to fall below 70% of the property value on the open market.

According to the report, if the increase in value turns out to simply be a real estate bubble, and it bursts before assessments are re-evaluated, then that could also prevent a tax increase.

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