State and local governments are on track to collect more than $400 billion in property taxes this year, the most ever according to USA Today.  Unlike any other tax, property taxes are based on fair-market value.  Even with real and personal property values dropping across the country, property tax collections across the USA rose 4.9% from 2007 to 2008 according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In fact, property taxes have consistently risen since 1937.

Corporations bear the brunt of these property tax increases even as many struggle to stay afloat in 2009.  According to the Council on State Taxation American companies pay more in property taxes than any other state or local tax.  In fact, property taxes make up almost 40% of all state & local taxes.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that your property taxes will automatically decrease this year just because the values on your real and personal property may have plummeted.  It will take just as much diligence in analyzing and appealing properties that are over assessed as any other year… maybe even more.