Posted on 04/05/2009 5:50:58 AM PDT by Zakeet
In many cities across the US, homeowners are filing record numbers of assessment appeals, wanting their property taxes to reflect their shrinking value of their houses.
Homeowners watching the value of their houses slowly ebb are storming tax offices from Ann Arbor, Mich., to Atlanta, demanding that county officials reassess their homes and lower their property taxes.
It is a question of fairness, says Gene Burleson of Atlanta, who stood in line April 1 to appeal his assessment. His house has lost 25 percent of its value since it was last assessed, he adds: "I'm just trying to insulate myself from coming tax increases."
Property taxes have become a rallying point for disgruntled Americans because, unlike sales or income taxes, they can be challenged directly by individual citizens: Some 40 percent of assessment appeals are successful. Yet the movement threatens already stressed counties, putting the tax receipts that pays for schools and police at risk.
"The property tax is the only tax where [a citizen] can go in and eyeball the guy," says Billy Cook, executive director of the Institute for Professionals in Taxation in Atlanta, noting that appeals often lead to small-claims-style hearings to press one's case against the county's tax valuation.
"Think of all the taxes in the U.S.: The taxpayer renders their returns and the government audits to make sure you do it right," adds Cook. "The only tax where the taxpayer audits the government is the property tax."
In many areas across the U.S., home values have dropped so rapidly that assessors have not been able to keep up. Even as their home values depreciate, homeowners are likely to see increases in their tax rates, because appraisals sometimes have been done years earlier.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Unfortunately, reducing government spending is not a viable option.
Obama’s coming inflation will fix those falling values quick.
We looked at a home in foreclosure recently (the bank wants $64,000...the previous owners trashed it...but it’s in a neighborhood of $200-300 thousand dollar homes.
The taxes, we were informed, would not be reassessed downward, at least not this year. So the taxes on the property will add over $400 to the mortgage and insurance.
No wonder they’re having a hard time moving foreclosed property!
I wonder if the Fed will plan to include those asking for a resassessment of real estate taxes within the new profile of potential domestic terrorists?
The origin of this problem was that too many local governments and school boards looked at the rapid rise in property values as a windfall.
There was no reason why those local budgets should have soared, just because property values did.
We got our assessment this week and our assessed value rose $50,000 which is typical of our neighborhood. Wait until inflation sets in.
Fairfax County VA where I live has an annual assessment program, and our property assessment dropped around 10% from last year. The county-wide average drop was around 15% if I recall correctly, but our neighborhood held up better than areas of townhouses and the like.
The County Board of Supervisors, seeing that the average assessment dropped 15% promptly increased the tax rate by 15% or so, thereby maintaining the same revenue from property tax. The result is that we see a 5% increase in 2009 tax dollars we must pay compared with 2008.
Other tax revenue dropped for the county (the county percentage of sales tax, for example) so I suppose we peasants should be grateful that our lords and masters in the Fairfax County offices didn’t try to make up all the revenue shortfall with property tax increases.
Jack
Taxpayers exist only to be a milk-cow for government. Don’t expect anything but a crack in the skull from them.
In our county (Riverside) every homeowner got a letter from the assessor's office either revising or leaving as-is. Ours stayed as is, because we've owned the home for 22 years and we're still undervalued compared to current prices.
The secret to dealing with issues like the one you are alluding to, teacher’s unions, is to pit one part of the liberal bureaucracy against another.
For example, introduce a bill that allows local residents to ‘earmark’ tax dollars for local education, with a commensurate amount being deducted from the state and federal government tax revenues. Thus the school administrators and teachers in that district will see potential access to more money. This could even be done at the state level.
The federal government, of course, will not stand for losing any tax dollars, so they will oppose. Thus the local teachers and education administrators see the federal government as taking money away from them. Run federal candidates who support state and local rights, and you have just sucked away parts of a traditional democratic voting block. There are tons of examples where this can be implemented. Divide and conquer has been a very successful ploy of the left. Fight fire with fire.
From my local paper this morning, Washington County Tn.
County property values increase
By Heather Richardson
Press Staff Writer
hrichardson@johnsoncitypress.com
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Washington County’s 2009 property appraisal shows the county’s assessed property value, on average for the entire county, to be up by about 30 percent from 2004.
Assessor of Property Monty Treadway said notices will be sent out to property owners on April 17 informing them of the new appraisal and assessment. The notices also will show the owner the old assessment value.
This year’s assessment was on 57,500 parcels with a total assessed value of $2.7 billion — up considerably from 2004. Much of this increase, however, is a result of new construction and subdivisions that have gone up in the past five years, Treadway said.
The assessed value is determined when the property assessor appraises and classifies the property and then applies the statutory percentages to the appraisals. Percentage rates for residential and farm properties are 25 percent while the rate for commercial and industrial properties is 40 percent.
For example, if a residence is appraised at $100,000 it would have an assessed value of $25,000.
Contrary to what many believe, the property appraisal and assessment process does not automatically raise property taxes. Appraisals and assessments are required by law and are done so that all property is appraised at current market value.
Property tax rates are determined by the County Commission. It cannot, however, adopt a tax rate that would generate more revenue than the previous year without first letting the public be heard.
“When there is a reappraisal, then the state division of property gives the county a certified rate to bring in the same amount of money as the year before,” Treadway said. “If the county raises the certified rate they have to have a public hearing.”
Washington County’s current property tax rate is $2.45 per every $100 of assessed value.
Increases in property value are driven by improvements or additions made to the property. The market for the property is another determining factor.
“People need to realize this is a five-year reappraisal and the values they have now are five years old,” Treadway said. “From 2004 to 2007 property values took a big increase.”
Treadway said he expects a lot of people to come to his office with questions or disagreements about their reappraisal.
“Most people are going to say their taxes are too high,” Treadway said. “But we don’t really have anything to do with taxes.”
Treadway said property owners coming in to dispute their appraisal need to have something that shows why they believe it to be incorrect.
“There will be a hearing starting April 20 for two weeks here in the office and then if they disagree with that they can attend the County Board of Equalization which starts meeting June 1.”
If a property owner still wants to challenge the decision, they can appeal to the State Board of Equalization.
Treadway said hearings in the assessment office will be by walk-in or by phone. County and state Boards of Equalization will be by appointment.
Basis for appeals would include an owner’s property value being too high or too low or an incorrect classification of the property.
To contact the property assessor’s office, call 753-1670. The office is located in the Washington
Nope - that’s the wife and I in our Sunday best, so they won’t be able to recognize us in normal working clothes when we are out slopping the hogs and raking the manure.
Jack
They do reassess at sale...however, say we bought this month, our taxes would be what they were for the previous owner for the remainder of this year. So we’d be paying the same taxes, the owner would have had, at least till the end of the calendar year.
This can work in your favor if you’re buying a house for investment (which will not have a homestead exemption) but if the previous owners claimed homestead exemption for this year, you get to get in on their rate till the end of the year.
We’ve owned our present home for 20 years and pay relatively low taxes because of a cap that limits the upward assessment to a certain percentage each year. But they only reassess every three years in our county.
In the real world there is no such thing as steps. In the last 5 years I have gotten a grand total of 5.5% raise TOTAL.
Did his wife GROW that cabbage??!! Call Monsanto!!
I noticed that myself. My assessed value dropped around 18%. Weeks later, I see the new female Gerry Connolly is trumpeting tax increases - but it’s OK, since “homeowners won’t pay more taxes.” Yes, thank you for taking away the ONE upside to plummeting property values.
The most ask question at court houses across the US.
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