Photo: Emilee Calametti / The Center Square
By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor
Republican state Rep. Joe Sosnowski has filed legislation he hopes will make life easier on Illinois residents now facing some of the highest property taxes in the country.
With the issue of affordability being a critical one across much of the nation, Sosnowski recently filed House Bill 4626, which seeks to cap rising property taxes by basing costs on the equalized assessed value of a home in the year that it was bought.
Final assessment costs would then not increase for as long as the person owns their home, with the goal being to make housing more attractive and affordable for first-time buyers, working families and fixed income seniors.
“We’re not growing, and one of the biggest problems is we have the highest property tax rate and the highest overall combined tax rate of any of the 50 states,” Sosnowski told The Center Square. “This legislation would be an immediate help to homeowners. It allows people to have an investment that grows, similar to retirement accounts and things that just because they grow in value doesn’t mean you pay more taxes year to year.”
With Illinois also being home to the most local taxing bodies, House Bill 3723 would also cap annual property tax increases at 1% for seniors and House Bill 3724 would cap all such increases for homeowners at 3%.
Article continues here.
