What is a mill?

One mill is 1/1000th of a dollar, or one mill yields one dollar in revenue for each $1,000 of assessed value. Millage rates are applied to five classes of property subject to taxation. These classes and their assessment rates are:

Class 1 - Single Family Owner Occupied (10 percent)

Current valuation -- $226,565,689

Class 2 - All Other Real Property (15 percent)

Current valuation --$189,303,784

Class 3 - Personal Property (15 percent)

Current valuation -- $165,531,776

Tax exempt valuation -- $84,403,132

Class 4 - Automobiles (30 percent)

Current valuation -- $155,534,246

Class 5 - Public Utilities (30 percent)

Current valuation -- $152,120,169

For example, a resident of Ocean Springs and its school district who owns an automobile valued at $7,933 would pay taxes on the assessed value (30 percent or $2,380).

The tax bill for that automobile would be $383.42 minus this year's legislative credit of 5.75 percent of assessed value plus $8.75 registration fee on renewals and the $15 privilege tax. Example:

County Tax

59.000 mills X 2380 = $140.42

City Tax

26.582 mills X 2380 = 69.31

School Tax

75.518 mills X 2380 = 171.07

Total

161.100 mills X 2380 =$380.80

Legislative credit -$136.85

Reg. fee, privilege tax + 23.75

Total tag cost $267.70

A single family owner-occupied home valued at $60,000 in that same Ocean Springs tax district (4660) would pay a millage levy of 159.999 (59.000 county and 100.999 city and school) on the assessed value of $6,000 (value X 10 percent). Total tax bill would be $959.99 or $719.99 with homestead exemption credit.

Taxes on a $60,000 rented home in Tax District 4660 would be figured at 159.999 mills on 15 percent of value ($9,000) for a total city and county tax bill of $1,439.99.

Appendix B (below) is a sample tax bill sent by the county tax collector's office to a municipal resident. The county collects municipal taxes for the cities of Gautier and Pascagoula and Ocean Springs through mutual agreement.

Industries that have been granted tax exemptions as incentives to locate or expand in Jackson County do not pay ad valorem taxes, but they are not exempt from school and community college taxes and the levy for state port bonds, capital improvements and reappraisal maintenance.

Or let's take a look at the tax bill when you put all of us taxpayers together. The dollar value of real, personal and public utility property (assessed valuation minus exempt properties) that is taxable by Jackson County in assessment year 2001-2002 totals $839,582,569. One mill (.001) will bring in $835,000 for the county when levied countywide for those categories in which all residents (unincorporated and municipalities) pay.