Installment plan for property tax payments proposed

Property taxes help pay for local government services and are divided into two payments – one in May and the other in October.

Rep. Lyndon Carlson Sr. (DFL-Crystal) sponsors HF3706 that would allow the taxes to be paid in eight installments. The current method can present a hardship for some, he told the House Property Tax and Local Government Finance Division, before the bill was held over Wednesday. There is no Senate companion

Rep. Lyndon Carlson Sr.

“I think it would make it easier for senior citizens on a fixed income in terms of adjusting their payments to a more manageable amount each month,” Carlson said.

The bill calls for property tax payments to be due on the 15th of each month from May through December.

He did note that counties are concerned about lost interest from such a payment schedule.

Keith Carlson, executive director of the Metropolitan Inter-County Association, took that concern further. He opposes the bill on the grounds of cost. “Counties would have to reprogram their computers – and that costs money. Tax statements would also have to be modified to the new payment schedule.”

There would be a cash flow issue for local governments. Keith Carlson said that counties may have to increase their reserves to account for the cash flow variance and a consequence could be raising property taxes.