Jackson County no longer has to follow a ruling from the Missouri State Tax Commission that ordered officials to roll back its 2023 tax assessment, after a judge dismissed the state’s case.
The state tax commission this summer ordered the county to roll back the assessments so that they are no higher than 15% greater than the last assessment in 2021. The commission told Jackson County to reevaluate its assessments by early September. The tax commission then went to court to force the county to comply. A Jackson County judge dismissed that request on Wednesday.
Now, the county no longer has to make property assessment changes that would have upended a process mired by lawsuits and criticism from residents and county legislators. Property tax assessments increased by an average of 30%, in some cases going up by 100%. Residents worried they could not afford to stay in their homes.
Jackson County officials, including Executive Frank White and County Assessor Gail McCann-Beatty, vowed to fight the commission’s order in court. Members of the Jackson County legislature did not agree with that move, arguing officials should focus instead on reducing the burden to taxpayers.
The State Tax Commission also alleged that Jackson County failed to properly notify property owners in writing whose assessed values went up by 15%. The commission said the county also failed to perform a physical inspection of properties whose assessed value increased by 15% or more?, nor did the county give homeowners clear written notice of their rights to a physical inspection.
County officials had argued that retroactively rolling back its property assessments would hinder taxing jurisdictions that rely on revenue from property taxes, like local school districts and public libraries.
Officials also said, if the county followed through with the commission’s order, it would not result in a tax credit or refund for eligible taxpayers.
