Introduction
June 2000
The property tax, as we all know, generates a significant amount of revenue for local units of government within Minnesota. It is an ad valorem tax (a tax according to value) that is levied in one year and becomes payable in the following calendar year, except for personal property (mobile homes, travel trailers, and some removable improvements) which is assessed and taxed in the same calendar year.
The property tax is primarily based on a property’s taxable value, its property tax classification, the total value of all property within a taxing area, and the budget requirements of all local governmental units within that area.
From the viewpoint of most, if not all, taxpayers, this tax is both confusing and too complex to understand. What taxpayers do understand is what they pay each year. Therefore, in order to facilitate a better understanding of the property tax and the system that assessors are asked to administer, personnel from the Stearns County Assessor’s Office will provide information about valuation and taxation in this quarterly news column.
Through this column, we hope to improve on our delivery of service and to promote better communication between taxpayers and the assessor’s office by presenting useful property tax information. To accomplish this objective, we will often use a question and answer format that is typically used by writers who are introducing or addressing certain topics.
We will try to focus on what is meaningful to taxpayers and provide general information on property tax laws as well as some occasional commentary on the marketplace changes that become evident in the county.
Certain topics that will be addressed in future news writings include: powers and duties of an assessor, taxable properties, valuation of properties, taxation programs, assessment/sales ratio studies, classification of properties, homesteads, assessment of personal property, truth-in-taxation, and appeals.
We encourage you to look for our next offering of "The Assessor’s Corner". In the meantime, if you have any suggestions as we begin to plan and develop this part of the website or should you have an assessment question, please contact us.