For many Utah property owners, the rise in home values has not been all good news. Many have seen property taxes rise by hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars annually.

This might be OK if incomes were rising at a parallel rate. But of course they are not, and the new taxes can hurt.

Many individuals brought complaints before the Legislature's Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee last week, and Senate leaders from Utah County -- President John Valentine, R-Orem, and Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo -- got an earful.

The concerns of property owners are valid. They have seen their taxes suddenly skyrocket, and they've had little say in the process.

The impact of increased home valuations across the state has been uneven. Until last year, for example, property in Bountiful had not been reassessed in more than a decade. That is way too long.

In Wasatch County, where property valuations have risen as much as 50 percent, there has been no corresponding tax rate reduction to keep total taxes on an even keel. Thus Wasatch schools will receive millions as a windfall to boost teacher salaries. No vote was needed.

Utah County, thanks to some self-control by elected officials, has kept huge increases in check.

The Utah tax system has been unprepared to handle a sudden run-up in property values. The Legislature needs to review and modify the system.

As it does so, we would suggest a few principles:

The overall property tax collection increase in a district, municipality or county should be limited each year to the rate of inflation plus some growth factor. Anything above that rate should require voter approval and maybe even a supermajority of 60 percent.

Property valuations should reflect current market conditions. Utah must become a full-disclosure state wherein sales prices are matters of public record. County assessors should be required to use that information for reassessing all tax parcels fairly, equitably and regularly. They cannot do that using Multiple Listing Service data from the real estate industry. That does not accurately reflect actual sales prices.

While existing homeowners may be justified in complaining about sharp tax increases, Utah should resist enacting precipitous statutes to protect them. We're thinking of California's Proposition 13, the 1978 bailout initiative to cap taxes that has resulted in significant inequities.

Under Prop. 13, a property's assessed value is based on its purchase price. Increases are held to 1 percent annually and are significantly reset only when a property is sold. Thus neighbors whose market values are similar can end up paying very different taxes.

Other state models exist that place lids on overall tax collections. That is the better way.

In Utah, it is a very real problem that government is virtually free to load up on tax dollars as real estate prices boom -- truth in taxation hearings notwithstanding.

The Legislature needs to step in during the next session, but do so with care. It should consider not just the consequences next year of any change, but the consequences 30 years from now.