Record 3.2 Percent Rise in Property Taxes in 2016

Property taxes rose a record-3.2 percent in fiscal 2016, CNS News reports.

The 2016 amountof taxes collected was $540,701,000,000 compared to $523,952,380,000 in 2015. New Jersey property owners paid the most taxes in 2016, reports WalletHub, with annual taxes set at 2.35 percent. The rate in some areas was more than double the national average.

In New Jersey, Democratic candidate for governor Jim Johnson has pitched a plan to lower property taxes by ending the foreclosure cycle and making homes more affordable.

"This is one of the drivers of property taxes," Johnson told NJ Advance Media. "And they're also directly related to our high foreclosure rate. The more homes foreclosed, the higher the property taxes are for the municipality – and the higher those taxes have to go for the remaining homeowners."

Illinois is second on the list for high property tax rates, followed by New Hampshire, Connecticut, Wisconsin and Texas. Hawaii was the state with the lowest property tax rate, at .27 percent, while Alabama and Louisiana followed.

The average spent on real estate property taxes every year is $2,089, according to the National Tax Lien Association.

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