WHAT DOES THE ASSESSOR NOT DO?
The assessor does not raise or lower taxes. The assessor does not make the laws which affect property owners. The Constitution of the State of Louisiana, as adopted by the voters, provides the basic framework for taxation, and tax laws are made by the Louisiana Legislature. The rules and regulations for assessment are set by the Louisiana Tax Commission. The tax dollars are levied by the taxing bodies, such as the police jury, school board, etc., and are collected by the Sheriff’s Office as Ex-Officio Tax Collector. The assessor’s office has nothing to do with the total amount of taxes collected. The assessor’s primary responsibility is to find the “fair market value” of your property so that you may pay only your fair share of the taxes. The amount of taxes you pay is determined by a “tax rate” applied to your property’s assessed value. The tax rate is determined by all the taxing agencies within a district, city, or parish, and those rates fixed by the Constitution. They include school districts, police juries, law enforcement districts, etc. The tax rate is the basis for the budget needed or demanded by the voters to provide for services such as schools, roads, law enforcement, etc. Tax rates are simply those rates which will provide funds to pay for those services.
