amansharma2988 wrote:
Can any please explain the meaning of the last line of the question?The percentage of assessed value that was paid as property taxes to the city, however, did not change from year to year during this period.
amansharma2988, the meaning of that sentence depends upon some information earlier in the passage. Let's break it down sentence by sentence:
Quote:
The total market value of real estate in Altonville has steadily declined over the past four years.
OK, this is pretty straightforward-- the total value of real estate has declined over the past four years. Got it.
Quote:
This decline has meant that the overall figure on which the city’s property tax is based—the assessed value of that real estate—has also declined.
Now we have a relationship between total value of real estate and the
assessed value of real estate -- as the total value went down, the assessed value went down. In addition, we know that the city's property tax is based on the assessed value of real estate.
Quote:
The percentage of assessed value that was paid as property taxes to the city, however, did not change from year to year during this period.
And here is that final sentence. The previous sentence told us that the assessed value of real estate has gone down, and that the property tax is based on that number. A new piece of information in this last sentence is that the
percentage of assessed value paid as property taxes has not changed. Think of it this way: your house was worth $100 four years ago, and you paid 5% of that amount in property taxes. Your house is now worth only $50, and you are still paying 5% in property taxes.
I hope this helps!