Anyone else heard of this from their water company? Storm water charge?

[Al B. Sure!]

Property tax rates are meaningless. Assessed value relative to market value is different in every municipality.

True that. Philly's assessed value is about 1/3rd of market value. I didn't want that to get in the way of the shock of the rate, though

[Dinner]

Property tax rates are meaningless. Assessed value relative to market value is different in every municipality.

Of course assessed value matters, 2% of $100,000 is less than 1% of $1m. That said, if we're to compare tax rates then we need to do exactly that, compare tax rates. BTW in California property owners can petition to have their assessed value lowered if the market goes down but the assessed value can never go up over the original sale price. That doesn't matter if an elderly couple bought their property in 1979 or if it's a new couple buying in 2012. The assessed value is set by the last sale price but once every five years the owner can petition to have the assessed value decreased if the local market goes down.

That's prop 13.

[Al B. Sure!]

Of course assessed value matters, 2% of $100,000 is less than 1% of $1m. That said, if we're to compare tax rates then we need to do exactly that, compare tax rates.

That's not what he meant. Philly's rate is ~9% of 32% of the market value.

[Hauldren Collider]

Property tax rates are meaningless. Assessed value relative to market value is different in every municipality.

I've never quite understood how the assessment works.

[Aeson]

Property tax rates are meaningless. Assessed value relative to market value is different in every municipality.

****... I was going to win at 12%

[Dr Strangelove]

They've finally figured out how to tax rain. Can air be far behind?

Next comes "thingee."

[pchang]

As usual, Oerdin is wrong. Prop 13 limits property tax increases to 2% a year.

http://www.californiataxdata.com/pdf/Prop13.pdf