CARTHAGE, Mo. ? The assessed value of property in Jasper County, down as a result of the may 22 tornado, will drop even more if a measure sponsored by state Rep. Bill White is passed in the special state legislative session that started Tuesday in Jefferson City. White, R-Joplin, is calling for passage of a bill that would allow commercial properties destroyed by the tornado to be taken off the tax rolls as of June 1, if enabling legislation is passed by the Jasper County Commission. Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday added White?s bill to the agenda for the special session. ?The governor sees it as an issue of fairness, and most other legislators I?ve talked with are supportive,? White said in a phone interview. The measure could offer tax relief for the owners of commercial properties destroyed by a tornado or other disasters in the state. The business could be removed from the tax rolls until the property is rebuilt, if enabling legislation is first passed by the county commission. ?We?re trying to keep it simple,? White said. ?Counties would have to opt in, because we don?t want to stuff it down their throats, and it would apply only to commercial properties.? State law, referred to as an occupancy law, already exists for residential properties. in counties where the law is in effect, including Jasper County, homes can be removed from the tax rolls if they are rendered uninhabitable because of a disaster. Landowners continue to be taxed for the full year on land values. White said he favors a plan under which property tax revenues lost by schools and other entities would be replaced by state funds, including the $1.5 million pledged earlier by Nixon and money from the state?s Rainy Day Fund. John Bartosh, Jasper County presiding commissioner, said he did not believe there would be objections from the county, as long as the lost revenues are going to be replaced. ?otherwise, there?s no way we could handle it,? he said. Homes made uninhabitable by the may 22 tornado were removed from the tax rolls as of June 1. As a result, the assessed value of residential property dropped by about $14.9 million for the year, to just over $675 million in Joplin. in addition, there was a $28 million drop in the assessed value of personal property, such as cars, boats and other equipment. Officials in the assessor?s office are uncertain about the cause of the drop. ?The only other thing we think may be an impact is that people are keeping their vehicles longer because of the economy, and depreciation is having more of an effect,? said Connie Hoover, county assessor. Currently, the county records reflect a $7.5 million increase in the assessed value of commercial property and a $3 million increase in the assessed value of agricultural property. Overall, the total assessed value of property in the county dropped to $1.486 billion, compared with $1.514 billion a year ago. Mr. Speaker STATE REP. TOM FLANIGAN, R-Carthage, served as temporary speaker of the House on Tuesday. Flanigan said he also will stand in today for House Speaker Steve Tilley, an optometrist who had scheduling conflicts in the early days of the special session.
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Commercial property tax relief added to special session agenda ?
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The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO
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