Property tax exemption proposed for senior citizens
Catoosa County school board members and county commissioners met Thursday, Nov. 15, to announce a possible reduction in property taxes for residents 65 years and older.
Schools Superintendent Denia Reese explained that if the bill that the Board of Education and Board of Commissioners are asking Sen. Jeff Mullis and Reps. Dwayne Hill and Steve Tarvin to introduce to the Georgia General Assembly during its next session passes, it will then go on the November 2019 ballot for local residents to vote on.
If it passes the test of a local vote, Catoosa residents who qualify will see their property tax bills go down beginning in 2020.
The criteria to qualify for a reduction includes being a homeowner age 65 or over and having an income of $30,000 or less. If those terms are met, the homeowner will see a $40,000 deduction on the assessed value of his or her home, reducing and possibly eliminating the school district ad valorem tax. The current age for a similar tax break is 75 years or older.
Don Dycus, school board chairman, said the board has been working on the tax break for a number of years.
“Our reduced budget for so many years, because of QBE not being fully funded and because of the last recession, prevented us from doing this,” he said.
Dycus said the economic recovery and the full funding of the Quality Basic Education Act that resumed last year made it feasible for the board and the commission to pursue a further tax break for older residents.