The total market value of real estate in Altonville has steadily decli...
The information states that the total market value of real estate in Altonville has steadily declined over the past four years. As a result, the assessed value of the real estate, which is used to calculate property taxes, has also declined. It is also mentioned that the percentage of assessed value paid as property taxes to the city did not change during this period.
Now let's evaluate each answer choice:
(A) Money collected from property taxes provided most of Altonville’s revenue during the past four years.
There is no information provided about the proportion of revenue generated by property taxes compared to other sources. Therefore, we cannot conclude that property taxes provided most of Altonville's revenue.
(B) The percentage of Altonville’s overall revenue that was collected from property taxes did not change over the past four years.
The information does not mention anything about Altonville's overall revenue or the percentage contributed by property taxes. We cannot determine whether the percentage of revenue from property taxes remained constant or not.
(C) Altonville officials had proposed raising property tax rates during the past four years but never did so because of strong opposition from property owners.
There is no information provided about any proposals to raise property tax rates or opposition from property owners. This statement cannot be inferred from the given information.
(D) The total amount of revenue that Altonville has collected from property taxes has declined over the past four years.
This statement can be inferred from the information provided. Since the total market value of real estate has declined, and the assessed value of real estate is used to calculate property taxes, it follows that the total revenue from property taxes would also decline.
(E) During the past four years, Altonville officials also did not increase tax rates on other sources of revenue such as retail sales or business profits.
The information only discusses the decline in property values and the related property taxes. There is no mention of tax rates on other sources of revenue. We cannot conclude whether tax rates on other revenue sources remained constant or changed.
Based on the given information, the statement most strongly supported is (D) The total amount of revenue that Altonville has collected from property taxes has declined over the past four years.