Legislation Filed for Metro Property Tax Freeze

Legislation necessary to freeze property tax rates for low-income senior citizens was filed with the Metro Council (today/yesterday).

By next year, Davidson County homeowners 65 and older who make less than 34-thousand dollars a year could be eligible for the tax freeze. Tennessee voters approved the property tax relief last year, but the legislature handed it off to county governments to choose whether or not to participate.

Councilman Rip Ryman is sponsoring Metro’s legislation and hopes to have the other 39 Council members sign on as co-sponsors. Ryman says some of his colleagues are worried that permanently freezing tax rates for some Nashvillians could hurt future city budgets.

For a property tax increase of one cent, the city now would bring in one-and-a-half million dollars in revenue. Metro Finance Director David Manning says that number falls to roughly 1.4-million with the freeze.

“That will mean property tax increases will raise a little bit less money per penny, but that’s a manageable number.”

Manning and other supporters say that the freeze could achieve a net gain in revenues by attracting more seniors to live in Nashville and expanding the tax base.

If the tax freeze passes, Davidson would be the first county to move ahead with the state’s property tax relief program. Some counties have been hesitant, fearing they have more to lose than gain in easing the tax burden on seniors.