Beyond the sickness I feel when writing my annual property tax check, I am bothered by the complexity of the tax bill that brings the dark news. Chinese arithmetic is easier to understand. So let's look at the facts behind the numbers and find out what your candidates for Tax Commissioner intend to do about these tax bills.

Here are a few facts about your property taxes. Beginning this year, your property value is re-assessed annually. In the past, it was re-assessed every three years. Any exemptions are applied and calculations on your tax are compiled. Your property tax is made up of two components - school tax (72%) and county maintenance and operations (M&O) (28%). The Board of Education (BOE) and the Board of Commissioners (BOC), respectively, set the millage rate for their component independent of one another.

There are two ways to raise your property taxes. One is the obvious and publicly accountable way - increase the millage rate. The second is the stealth increase of annual re-assessments that raise the value of your property without raising the millage rate. This method is popular among many elected officials since they can take more of your money, but do not have to go on record as raising your taxes. They can simply push the blame off on property value re-assessments. Convenient, isn't it?

But wait, there's more. The assessed value of your home that is used as the basis for figuring your school tax and county M&O tax is not the same. District 24 State Representative Tom Knox was able to pass legislation that froze the value of your property for as long as you owned it for county M&O tax purposes. However, a similar measure to do the same for the school tax portion was defeated. This has resulted in your taxes being raised both ways. In the case of county M&O, the taxes have to be raised overtly by a millage rate increase which requires public debate and discussion. This subjects the BOC to accountability for their budget. Just ask any commissioner that has been bloodied and bruised after one of those meetings - and they only control 28% of your property taxes.

The school tax increases, however, are done through property value re-assessments, thereby shielding the BOE from any culpability for their budget. Now that re-assessments are done annually instead of every three years, the BOE gets a built-in tax increase without lifting a finger, assuming property values continue their upward trend in one of the fastest growing counties in the country (safe bet). Of course, the BOE could still decide to increase your millage rate, too, and get a double-whammy. But that would require public debate and discussion and a possible flogging, particularly when their portion of the bill is about 72% of your property taxes.

At least our tax bills explain all of this information clearly and concisely, right? Wrong. I put this issue to our four Tax Commissioner candidates to find out what changes they would make to our property tax bills in order to make this distinction easier to understand. I asked them if they would favor breaking the bill into two clear sections - one itemizing your property value, millage rate, and total cost for county M&O, and another section doing the same for the school tax. A third section would include a five year history of this same information so that the property owners could see the trends.

Matt Maiorano (www.mattmaiorano.com), who currently works in the Tax Commissioner's office, fully supports the idea. He admits that "our tax bills are confusing" and pledged to "definitely change our tax bills so they are easier to read and understand." In addition, Matt's goal is to bring online bill payment capabilities to the department. He points out that all of the information for current and previous tax years is already stored electronically. With minor technology changes, a person could easily access online their property tax information for prior years in addition to paying their bill. Matt expressed concern about citizens not being aware of existing exemptions. He would like to see a requirement that real estate closing attorneys be responsible for sending in the applications for all applicable exemptions.

Wayne Plummer (www.plummer04.com) acknowledges that the "tax bill is challenging for many people to understand." While he likes the idea of changing the current tax bill, he is concerned about the potential costs should new software be required. He notes that there are only about "four or five software vendors who sell software to county and municipal governments to manage Tax Assessment services and Tax Collection services" and that any changes should be targeted to lower overall costs in the long term.

Bill Jenkins (www.votebilljenkins.com) agreed that "Our property tax bills and tax exemptions are too confusing and too complicated." Regarding a reformatted tax bill, Bill said that he would "send a full explanation with each tax bill listing the amounts distributed to county, school system and state." He further stressed the need to work with the state legislative delegation to "re-write our property tax bills and exemptions so they are more informative, easier to understand and easier to apply for." He emphasized that taxpayers should "no longer be left in the dark."

Matt Ledbetter (www.electledbetter.com), however, is less supportive of changing the current tax bill. He said, "I am open to changing the current bill if that is what the people of Forsyth County want, but at this time, I don't think it is necessary." He emphasized educating the taxpayers, just not through a simplified tax bill. He pledged to hold monthly seminars and to add online help for taxpayers to understand how to read their tax bills. In addition, he advocates increasing office hours and adding satellite offices.

I wonder - if the tax bill were simple to understand, clearly making distinctions in the property tax components, would there be a taxpayer revolt? My hope is that there would be. And, perhaps, that is the greatest fear of elected officials. What better way to maintain the status quo than by confusing the taxpayers to the point that they throw up their hands in resignation?