Did you know that the WCASD school board members have the power to raise your taxes? We covered information on millage (definition and how to calculate) and today we'll take a look at taxes increases from year to year in actual dollars and cents.
This website provides a wealth of information on school taxes in PA and allows users to see
a year-by-year tally of property taxes, and to determine how much taxes have risen over the past decade.
The tax bills below are from the same residence during the years of 2020, 2022, 2023.
2020
Millage rate = 21.6622
Tax bill = $3094.45
2022
Millage rate = 22.0604
Tax bill = $3151.33
2023
Millage rate = 22.4364
Tax bill = $3205.04
For this residence, the taxes are rising steadily, but not astronomically. However, this is a modest property with a low assessment ($142,850). Many properties within our district would have a higher assessment, and thus a higher tax bill.
Although we do not have tax bills for this property from a decade ago, we are still able to calculate the tax bills by multiplying the millage rate x assessment value.
Let's look at the cost of taxes for this property in:
2004
Millage rate = 13.55
Tax bill = $1931.62
2008
Millage rate = 16.85
Tax bill = $2407.02
2012
Millage rate = 18.67
Tax bill = $2667.01
2016
Millage rate = 20.0982
Tax bill = $2871.03
Over a 19 year period (2004-2023) the school taxes on this property rose from $1931.62 to $3205.04, which means that taxes increased nearly $1300 over 19 years.
While the average family may easily absorb tax increases into their budgets, even modest tax increases can have an impact on finances for those who are living from paycheck to paycheck, and/or those who are on fixed incomes.
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