A taxing problem?

Gisclair has the solution

It’s a battle the St. Charles Parish tax assessor has been fighting for years in an attempt to lower our property taxes.

But it hasn’t been working.

With each new assessment, residents and business owners suffer the consequences of paying higher taxes.  Rock Gisclair believes industry in St. Charles Parish needs to be paying their fair share and he says they’re not. He wants legislators to look at what other states in the country are doing when it comes to industry.

He points out a company in Michigan that signed on with that state to bring in big business. An industry that suddenly changed its mind seven years later and decided to pull out and take their business somewhere else. Gisclair says that because they broke the agreement, that industry had to pay Michigan taxes after they left.

He says that doesn’t happen in our state and he believes the legislation should be changed.

With each reassessment, taxing districts are awarded  huge amounts of  surplus money.  So far, the recent assessment  shows that there could be more than $35 million coming to the taxing districts this year. Organizations like the school board, sheriff’s office and other parish agencies have the option of whether to keep the money or not.

If the agencies don’t keep the surplus, the taxes will remain the same. If they do take the additional money, the millage will be increased, which means more of a burden to the property owners.

With pending  court cases against Bunge and others who Gisclair says aren’t paying their fair share of taxes, the only option for parish businesses and homeowners is to go and speak to state legislators and the parish council.

Gisclair’s office also has an open door policy and he’s willing to discuss the property tax issue with anyone who needs an answer to the question: Why’s my property tax bill so high?