Limits Upon Limits
1. Pre-Measure 5: Each budget Committee through a series of budget hearings produces a completed budget to submit to voters for approval. Voters eventually approve the budgets and the approved dollar amounts (levies) are submitted to the Assessor for calculation of the tax. The dollar amount of the levy is then divided by the total market value of all property within the district to get a rate for the district that when multiplied times the value of each property will produce exactly the amount approved by voters.
2. Measure 5: In addition to the budgetary limits in #1, Measure 5 imposed a rate limit of $10 on the total combined rate of all General Government districts and a $5 limit for Education districts. The total combined rates of all districts providing services to a property are tested and if they exceed either limit, those rates are compressed to comply with the limits. New construction is added value to the tax base which reduces rates but adds no additional tax.
3. Measure 47: In addition to #1 and #2, Measure 47 put a further limit on the total tax that could be imposed upon any property. It took the 1995 tax of each property and reduced it by 10% as a starting point and then increased it by 3% each year thereafter. The property was taxed upon the lower of the Measure 47 tax or the tax calculated in #1 whichever is lowest. New construction for the first time ever, became additional taxes for districts. Taxes on new construction are computed by reducing the market value of the new property to a 1995 -10% level and adding 3% per year from that date. Assessed values are then applied to permanent rates to calculate the tax.
4. Measure 50: (Submitted by the Oregon Legislature to replace Measure 47) In addition to process #1 limiting budgets and process #2 capping rates, Measure 50 put a limit on taxable value. It took each property’s 1995 market value and reduced it by 10%. It created permanent rates for each taxing district that in combination with the 1995 less 10% value produced approximately the 17% tax reduction provided under Measure 47. Values are allowed to increase by 3% each year and taxes are calculated using the lower of market value or the Measure 50 value. New construction again results in additional taxes for the districts. The new construction market value is reduced by the approximate percentage of market value to Measure 50 value that other like properties are assessed times permanent rates.
* Measure 47 reduced taxes by approximately 17% statewide.