TOPEKA – Republican State Representative Joe Patton who represents southwest Shawnee County testified Tuesday in the House Tax Committee in favor of legislation he co-sponsored that would provide needed property tax relief.

“Kansans want more government accountability in the property tax system. With property taxes going up nearly every year, many are being forced to sell their homes, close their businesses or do without essentials to pay the taxes. We need to change the system to protect their homes, businesses and our way of life,” said Patton.

Currently, a property owner’s tax bill will go up when property values increase. This would cause an increase in the actual tax without a vote by those entities benefiting from the increase.

House Bill 2212 will provide that property taxes would not automatically increase and requires an actual vote of the governing body.

He says that over the past ten years the property tax burden on homeowners and small businesses increased from $1.97 billion to over $3.8 billion, a 94% increase. This increase is 3 times the rate of inflation and 9.5% times greater than population growth.

“This dramatic tax increase stifles economic growth and is a job killer,” said Rep. Patton.

No action was taken on his bill.