If you drive a car I'll tax the street

Posted by Iannucci | 3/19/2008 | 8 comments »
Bookmark and Share

Zappatista has pointed out an eye-opening article in the Indianapolis Business Journal that explains how the property taxes in Marion County, Indiana are getting more than a little wacky.

In 2005, assessors valued the 559-acre Indianapolis Motor Speedway at $34.4 million for property tax purposes. According to the latest figures from the Marion County reassessment, it now has a market value of $170 million.

If the new assessment stands, the track’s annual gross property tax bills would increase fivefold, to more than $5 million, assuming tax rates remain constant.

Track spokesman Fred Nation expressed surprise that Marion County had assigned a $170 million property tax value to “a piece of land with a bunch of grandstands around it.”

(MORE from IBJ.com)
Five million bucks would just about pay for another race team. Just sayin'. Anyhow, if you notice things being a little more expensive for your annual trip to IMS, now you have a better idea why.

8 comments

  1. Anonymous // March 19, 2008 8:34 AM  

    the whole state is in a uproar about property taxes, so this isn't much of a surprise to me, but probably to non-hoosiers..

    my property tax bill isn't a bed of roses either.. *grrrrr*

  2. Unknown // March 19, 2008 9:43 AM  

    Maybe I am totally mistaken here, but I always understood there to be a fundamental difference between property tax valuation and market value. In my county (Madison, IL) the assessed tax value of property is typically around 20% of market value. It seems like a fivefold jump in valuation is better explained by comparing apples to oranges in this case.

  3. Anonymous // March 19, 2008 10:17 AM  

    Edmund, in Indiana there are 3 polarizing issues that are best left to a higher power: a) The firing of Bobby Knight, 2) Property Taxes, and 3) Time Zones.

  4. Fred Hurley // March 19, 2008 12:23 PM  

    Don't forget Daylight Savings Time!

    Freakin' bureaucrats, eliminatin' happy hour like that ... *grumble*.

  5. The American Mutt // March 19, 2008 1:26 PM  

    I live in southern indiana so the time zone thing didn't affect me. Never much cared for basketball, but have since missed Bobbys antics. My rent went up 25 % because of the tax hike.

  6. Anonymous // March 19, 2008 4:05 PM  

    Has anybody looked at the surrounding area around the track? Not exactly high rent.You would think with all the revenue the track brings in,and TG never asking for tax breaks or money, that the state would go for more.Oh, I forgot there is never enough that the Govt. wants.

  7. Anonymous // March 19, 2008 4:24 PM  

    anonymous,

    there were some plans in the past year or so to upgrade the areas surrounding the track (it's located in a separate town named, appropriately enough, "Speedway, Indiana" and it entirely surrounded by the city of Indianapolis), but I think those are currently bogged down in talks with the Speedway town officials because I haven't heard any updates on them for months.

    As for the property tax, look for that amount to be contested, as will every other tax bill in the state of Indiana. It's a big mess right now, and Marion County (which is all of Indianapolis--Univgov) is the worst offender in the state. I don't know how their assessments could have been so outrageous. The state reduced homeowner property bills and shifted a lot of the liability to businesses. The big loser in all this was state wide education funding. Property taxes have always been used to fund education, and already school systems state-wide are facing budget cuts. Nice, huh? The kids are the real losers.

  8. John in Speedway // March 19, 2008 7:55 PM  

    As a resident of Speedway, I'm well aware of what's called the Speedway Redevelopment Commission. They are proposing to revamp the entire area around the speedway. It will be known as the Speed Zone. You can check out the website www.redevelopspeedway.com. Our property taxes are actually lower than in surrounding communities, thanks to Tony George. The redevelopment plan actually calls for closing Georgetown Rd. and expanding the grounds of IMS both to the west and the south. The vision is pretty impressive, if you check out the presentations they have available on the website.