Why is the rollback more complicated in St. Louis County?
Residential property values tend to rise almost every year. Commercial property values are much more volatile. They fall, stabilize, rise rapidly, etc. Missouri’s system of valuing agricultural values makes them stagnant. Therefore, there can be a constant shifting of tax burdens – and most years the rising burdens fall on residential property. Every county has the option to avoid this constant shifting by setting tax ceilings separately on the three types of real property and one for personal property, then applying the rollback requirements to each rate (i.e. stabilizing the relative burdens of the tax). Missouri law required this change for St. Louis County but made it optional for all others. No other county has adopted the practice so far. 11. What are TIFs and tax abatements and how do they affect property taxes? Cities and counties are authorized under various provisions in Missouri law to offer various tax reduction incentives. Generally, these incentives trade a promise of new
