KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Platte County officials are staunch in their opposition to an order from the Missouri State Tax Commission to impose an across-the-board 15% increase in residential property valuations.
The Platte County Commission, County Clerk and Board of Equalization are “unified in their opposition to this heavy-handed and unjust action by the STC,” officials stated in a news release.
Officials were notified of the order Wednesday, July 30.
In the news release, officials said the order is a result of Platte County Assessor David Cox failing to complete a mandatory biannual residential assessment, as well as the demands of the five county school districts for property tax increases.
Officials were critical of the request, writing the districts “apparently can’t operate without massive annual revenue increases paid for on the back of hard-working Platte County taxpayers.”
One of the main concerns officials have with implementing the order is it would “bypass the traditional data-driven assessment process used by Missouri assessors for decades and would replace it with an arbitrary and onerous assessment increase dictated by unelected Jefferson City bureaucrats.”
Plus, officials highlighted concerns that taxpayers would be hurt in the process by not having “an opportunity to appeal the new valuations, threatening the economic stability of many Platte County households.”
United, the commission, clerk and BOE are calling on Gov. Mike Kehoe to overturn the order immediately and call a special session to focus on reforming state tax law.
Platte County hopes to see power removed from an unelected three-person board that seeks to “impose arbitrary and onerous tax increases on hard-working Missourians.”
“Such reforms are essential to protect our residents and restore accountability to the taxation process,” the Platte County officials stated in their release.
Platte County officials will address the order in a press conference at 10 a.m. Friday.
In the meantime, they are encouraging the “public and all elected officials to stand with us and fight this unjust action by the Missouri State Tax Commission.”
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KSHB 41 reporter Marlon Martinez covers Platte and Clay counties in Missouri. Share your story idea with Marlon.
