County property tax overhaul urged
By David Roeder Business Reporterdroeder@suntimes.com December 20, 2010 8:52AM
Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM
Cook County’s mind-boggling property tax system should be simplified and made fairer, a taxpayer watchdog group argued in a report to be issued today.
The nonpartisan Civic Federation said widely used tax breaks such as homestead exemptions should be reduced or eliminated. Tax relief for homeowners, the group said, could come through expanding a state “circuit breaker” program and limiting the benefit according to income.
The federation said changes introduced into the property tax system over the years have hurt uniformity, resulting in similar types of properties in similar neighborhoods paying different taxation rates.
Its report comes out as many Cook County homeowners have struggled to make sense of their recent tax bills. Some of the bills rose despite declines in the assessed valuations of the homes, often because local governments levied higher taxes or because of changes in the exemptions attached to the properties.
The county’s tax collection system itself should be reformed, the report said. It called for making the treasurer’s office, which collects the money, nonelected and said it should be combined with functions of the county clerk, recorder and auditor.
But despite problems with the system, the federation said the property tax is an efficient way to support schools and local government. It said it opposes proposals to swap property tax funding for a higher state income tax.
“The locally controlled and collected property tax is the most stable source of revenue for school districts, and the state’s fiscal crisis has shown it to be an unreliable funding partner,” the report said. It recommended that state aid be targeted to school districts in poor communities.
The federation said property tax-based incentives should be reduced and that tax-exempt property, usually used for charitable or religious functions, should be strictly defined.
The group also reiterated a long-stated goal, that the county’s more than 1,300 taxing districts be consolidated. It said most county property owners pay taxes to “roughly seven to 15 units of local government.”
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