In a message from July 17, County Executive included a graph with which many budget wonks are familiar: a comparison of MoCo’s property tax rates to other counties in the DC region.
It looks like MoCo aligns with its neighbors, arguably a tad lower.
This graph has little to do with the matter at hand: increasing tax bills, increasing county budgets, and a declining tax base.
Think of the people you know who have left MoCo. Some of them are so exasperated with the lack of jobs and the daily fight on the American Legion Bridge that they prefer to incur a slightly higher property tax rate and move to Northern Virginia.
Equally important are the folks who move out of the DC region entirely, to places such as North Carolina or Texas. Here is a comparison with a few counties in those areas.
(Sarasota County, like all of Florida, has no state income tax.)
Lastly, the property tax rate is an irrelevant component of affordability: what matters is the number appearing on the tax bill. If the tax rate is a bargain at 1.0/$100, and oppressive housing policies cause your home to artificially increase in value, your property tax bill can be much higher than a jurisdiction charging 1.5/$100.
Today’s leaders in Montgomery County are living in yesterday’s economic reality. The Stop The Spend ballot initiative forces county government to keep spending in line with inflation, and by extension our property taxes. Join the effort at controlmocospending.com.
