Law cuts bills for some Aiken property owners

AIKEN --- Property owners in Aiken County know that each January they'll be reaching for their wallets.

Property taxes for city of Aiken residents are due Jan. 24, and for county residents the deadline is Tuesday.

But the 2007 tax year is a little different. It's a reassessment year, and because of a new law that voters approved in 2006, some property owners could see a substantial tax break.

Though it's good news for some taxpayers, the new law is proving to be a nightmare for county tax officials.

"It's kind of complicated this year because of the tax law that went into effect in 2007 that stated that during the reassessment period, the taxable value could not go up more than 15 percent above the base year," which was 2006, said David Gove, Aiken County's interim tax assessor.

Owners of expensive homes are benefitting the most from the 15 percent cap on property values.

For example, a property that was on record for $100,000 in 2006 was reassessed at a fair market value of $250,000 in 2007. But because of the 15 percent cap, Mr. Gove explained, the taxable value would be $115,000.

Instead of paying $2,296 in taxes, based on the $250,000 fair market value, the property owner would pay $1,056.15.

In 2007, the total market value for the county was about $8.3 billion. The cap value is about $6.9 billion. Because of the new law, the county is losing about $1.4 billion in taxable value.

Since 2001, the county has seen growth in market values "of about 25 to 35 percent," Mr. Gove said.

Although building has slowed in the past 11/2 years or so, Mr. Gove said he doesn't think the values have gone down.

"I think basically that the values are still there. It's just that the properties are staying on the market a little bit longer," he said. "There's still houses being built; there's still land being divided up; there's still businesses that are opening up."

Reach Michelle Guffey at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or michelle.guffey@augustachronicle.com.