It's no secret property taxes in Boise and surrounding areas are on the rise. With the rate the Boise market is growing, assessors are trying to keep up with the times. A large concern coming out of this is the idea of people being priced out of their homes due to the rising taxes. In an effort to provide some relief, House Bill 389 was recently passed which increases the homeowner's exemption from $100,000 to $125,000 or 50% of the assessed value, whichever is less. Additional changes also include the state's circuit breaker program, calculations for budgeting, and how new construction factors in.

The circuit breaker program which was put into place to help seniors, widowers and those with disabilities, is increasing by $180 but also tightening up the requirements for who can apply, preventing approximately 15% of those currently enrolled from being able to stay in the program.

When it comes to each districts budgeting, this bill restricts the additional new growth budget amount to a cap at 8% in any budget year. The bill also prevents new construction to be factored into the new growth calculation until completion.

Although there is some relief in this bill, the large concern is that it's not enough to really impact homeowners while it's real affect is quite harmful to the funding of services and government expenses like fire service, roads, parks, etc required for our quickly growing community.

Paige Brown, Associate Broker, Swope Investment Properties