Outrage over skyrocketing property taxes in some counties have fueled months of discussion over how to improve the current valuation system.
While several fix-it bills are on the table, Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden, proposes a major change: basing property assessments on purchase price instead of the assessor-determined fair market value.
"I've always felt the price you pay for the home is its actual value," Hansen said.
While some say such a change would require a constitutional amendment, Hansen believes the bill could be worded to avoid it.
His yet-to-be-drafted proposal would signal a significant shift. So far, it has gained little traction on Capitol Hill.
"I know there will be entities that come out against it, but I feel the discussion needs to happen," added Hansen, recently elected to his sixth term in the House. "We see people being taxed out of their homes."
In Hansen's thinking, the change would not only simplify the massive county-by-county assessment process but would also help homeowners live within their means.
In 2007, Rep. Gage Froerer, R-Huntsville, heard from outraged constituents when their Ogden Valley home values shot up unexpectedly.
While he understands their need for predictability, Froerer -- in the real estate business for 30 years -- considers neither process to be without flaws.
An acquisition-based policy would shift the tax burden to young families and new home owners, Froerer predicts.
"In today's world, that would not be an attractive situation since we want to encourage home purchases," he said.
The consensus of the 2008 Interim Revenue and Taxation Committee is to give assessors one more year to improve the quality of their market-value assessments, Froerer added.
Royce Van Tassell, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, said the state's current system can use some minor improvements but views it as "one of the best."
"Utah's property tax is the only tax where we are below the national average," Van Tassell said, adding that unhappy taxpayers have ample opportunity to appeal their assessments.
Clark Richardson, an appraiser for 24 years, differs. In December, he told committee members that county-assigned market values are anything but fair.
"The government has no meaningful capacity to determine a proper market value estimate, neither should it try," Richardson said.
