May 7, 2007

House Tax Increases

One disgruntled visitor commented, "Most cops, firemen and other civil "servant" work the 20-years and out cycle while the rest of us working stiffs have to put in 35 or more years before we retire. You civil "servants" are bleeding us dry!"

Meanwhile, taxpayers are handcuffed by big annual increases in teachers’ salaries and the rising costs of pensions and health insurance, the over-the-top union benefit terms of 20-years service and out as well as higher energy prices.

Filed under Blog, House Taxes by George Bolton

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April 30, 2007

Protest Property Taxes With Impact Fees

When legislation to cut back taxes is heard, right away you hear hysterical voices talking about cutting off police and fire service, closing down parks, playgrounds bridges and other knee jerk reactions. You don't hear voices arguing for equality in benefits for pay packages equivalent to private secor workers. You don't hear about pay packages equivalent to WalMart workers, Home Depot employees, Supper Market employees do you?

Another method to address property tax shortfalls is imposing impact fees. Government can impose fees on new construction. These fees cover the costs of building roads to handle the traffic generated by development and schools to educate the children of families that move into the homes. Impact fees also help pay for fire-rescue, parks, libraries and law enforcement as well as any other government services provided. Of course this would jack up to value of homes - which would be a good thing for those already owning a home. Higher valuations for newer homes would filter down to existing homes as well as the added desireablity aspect of living in a low-property tax community.

Filed under Blog, Protest Politics, Protest Property Taxes by George Bolton

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April 23, 2007

How Do I Fight My Property Taxes

Your property taxes may give you a shock. With the collapsing housing market taking place, many areas have opportunities to reassess their property values. It’s a simple process but without an authoritative guide, your confidence and chances of maximizing your opportunity diminish.

So, how do you fight your property taxes? First you need to find comparable homes that sold that are similar to your home in regards to price range and location that sold within the year you are appealing for. Next you need to make adjustments for the various differences between your home and the comparables you have chosen and come up with a definitive value conclusion that you can defend. That’s it!

Filed under Blog, How Do I Fight My Property Taxes by George Bolton

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April 4, 2007

Property Tax Rates Summon a Rise In Tax Appeals

Several communities are seeing a significant spike in boards of review appeals this year as tax rates increase and market values for homes decrease.

Boards of review are set up to allow residents to contest the assessed value of their homes. That value is used in computing property taxes with millage rates. Many of this year’s appeals came from people who have been unable to sell their homes for the value indicated by their assessment.

Filed under Blog, Property Tax Rates by George Bolton

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March 26, 2007

Property Tax Assessments vs. Market Valuation

DO YOU HAVE A CASE?

First, we have to determine if you have a case at all, that is, if your assessments are too high. The amount of your assessment is what the town thinks your house and property are worth relative to other properties. This may or may not be an accurate figure. The National Taxpayers Union is credited as saying that as much as 50% of all property in America is over assessed. Recently appraised properties are more accurate and closer to the dollar amount of current value than properties that have not been appraised recently. In other words, a recent estimate is closer to reality than an old estimate. Many taxpayers have the impression that their assessment is fair if it is below the current fair market value. However, what we really are looking for is equitability. The fact is that property should be valued equitably with similar type property within the same taxing jurisdiction. If a taxpayer's property is assessed at 95% of fair market value and, in the rest of the jurisdiction, similar properties are assessed at 75% of fair market value, what's fair about that?

The question is, what does the taxing authority think your house is worth? After you have determined this figure, you will be armed with a number to compare to other similar properties and determine if you are over assessed.

To determine this figure, call the municipal taxing authority where you live and request the tax assessor's office. Ask for the sales ratio. This can be called, depending on the jurisdiction, the average ratio, assessment level, director's ratio, the common level of 100% of true value, RAR (residential assessment ratio) or the equalization rate (which may not always be equivalent to the sales ratio). Ask for the current assessed valuation for your land as well as the amount of assessment for improvements (your house) and the total value for both. Obtain the legal description of your land known as the lot and block number or parcel identification number (PIN number). This information should also be on your tax bill. Calculate the total assessed value of your house and property (add them) and divide the total assessed value of your residence by the sales ratio to determine what your tax appraiser thinks your house and property are worth.

For example:

$25,000 land

+ $193,000 improvements (residence)

$218,000 total assessed valuation

Total Assessed Valuation divided by sales ratio = what they think your land and dwelling(s) are worth but not always what it will sell for in the marketplace.

If the sales ratio for the year was 71.7%

$218,000 = $304,044.63

.717

$304,044.63 = what the taxing authority thinks your property and residence are worth but not necessarily what it will sell for in the open residential housing market.

(mathematical note: remember that when using your sales ratio percentage figure as a divisor, move the decimal point 2 spaces to the left.)

Now you are armed with what the taxing authority thinks your residence is worth. You can now compare this figure to the actual amount your property and house would get in the open marketplace. If this figure is more than the fair open market value for your house, you are over assessed and chances are favorable that you have a case. At this juncture you may have only a ball park notion of what your house is worth. If that figure is out of line with the assessor's figure, you should proceed with a residential market analysis of your property's actual worth.

Filed under Blog, Property Tax Assessment vs. Market Valuation by George Bolton

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Property taxes don't have to rise – Reducing taxes is GOOD PUBLIC POLICY

The state has no direct power to reduce property taxes, which are assessed by cities, counties and school districts. So what happens is that budget increases get passed onto taxpayers. Essentially, the state makes up the difference between what the local government levies and what the property owner pays.

Reducing taxes that the state has direct control over is GOOD PUBLIC POLICY. The most basic fiscal responsibility of elected officials and other public leaders should be to make sure that the tax systems producing revenue and does not collapse by making conditions harsh on businesses and residential taxpayers. Citizens elect their state and local leaders to provide stewardship of governmental institutions and their finance decisions.

Taxpaying citizens have to trust the elected officials to work on their behalf and have little over-ride on financial matters. Often their trust is misplaced.

A spending spree mentality is pervasive across much of the nation. Officialdom has the newest cars, the best health insurance, early retirement initiatives, featherbedding jobs or jobs that could be more economically contracted for than to be filled in-house by an expensive state union job holder. Elected officials are tempted to buy the "gloss" and leave the taxpayers holing the bag.

Reducing taxes is GOOD PUBLIC POLICY. If a recession and the prognosis of many economist suggesting housing values to fall 20-40% in the next year were to take place, what is to become of the taxpayer? It’s good public policy to start reducing taxes now if only to give working men and women a break. In the long run, when the economic cycle turn bad, there will be a little wiggle room.

Filed under Blog, Taxes and Public Policy by George Bolton

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March 15, 2007

Property Tax Assessments

You'll need to compare your property tax assessment to the actual market value. Then you'll need to find comparable properties and apply the multipliers (sales ratio multipliers explained in the book), as well as specific valuation adjustments to the properties you are appealing against to make your case hold up. You have to make sure your adjustment are reasonable and within guidelines explained in the book.

The tax assessor will naturally cherry pick his tax comparables for higher numbers so you'll have to be on your toes to catch him. Of course you'll cherry pick value comparable property assessments that will make your figures look like the reasonable ones.

With the current downward market pressures and future estimates from some top economist for a 20 – 40% decline in real estate prices, the opportunity to appeal you property taxes based on market value seems could be a good bet. What the assessor says your house is worth and what the actual market value is has a greater chance of being miles apart but it is up to you to make the case.

Big brother will never knock on your door and say, "We found that your home deserves a lower tax assessment and here it is." That will never happen. You can count on that. The liberals in your town spend your money like there is no tomorrow and you're left holding the bag. They won't come looking for you carrying a glass slipper looking to give you a break.

Filed under Blog, Property Tax Assessments by George Bolton

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March 12, 2007

Reducing Property Taxes - Real Property Tax Reform

Real property tax reform needs to stick to hard and fast parameter – parameters that future politicians can not evade or dance around. Our neighbors to the North are attempting reducing property taxes by imposing a hard number on the tax increase limit.

A provincial Conservative government would limit annual property-tax assessment increases to a maximum of 5% for as long as an individual owns the home, party leader John Tory promised yesterday.

Tory said the cap would remain in place if the home is transferred to a spouse. "Seniors, people on fixed incomes and, indeed, all homeowners deserve stability; they deserve the certainty that they can afford to keep living in their home," he said.

Filed under Blog, Reducing Property Taxes by George Bolton

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March 6, 2007

Income Taxes – It’s Tax Time Everyone!

Can you imagine holding every single American hostage to a 16,845 document. Making the taxpayer responsible for getting their numbers right is a nightmare and the lovely result of special interest groups and lobbies in Washington, it seems.

THE TAX CODE: 16,845 PAGES OF FUN AND EXCITEMENT What's that? You don't have a copy? I'll lend you mine — just come with a few muscles and a pickup to load it aboard.

Any wonder why 3 out of every 4 people needlessly GIVE away far too much money to the IRS. It turns out even though a whole slew of tax provisions exists to help out the little guy; they’ll never digest the blasted IRS code. It was the brilliant physicist Albert Einstein who said, "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." He wasn’t joking. Really,16,845 pages of boring to figure out. Who’ll do that? And you think there is no conspiracy against the little guy

The tomb is designed to let big business keep piles of money in their own bank accounts. Meanwhile both political parties spend like drunken sailors on leave of their senses giving away the farm to their business friends and pile up gigantic bills for, your guessed it, the TAXPAYER.

Couple that with the welfare state that has caught on so well in the U.S. and will not let go it’s grip. A system that allows one in five people who work for the government to retire after 20-years with pension and welfare benefits that are not affordable to small business private enterprise. Entitlements that allow government workers early retirement at 75 percent pay is another outrage to taxpayers.

Soon the promise of universal health coverage will become a reality. And who will pay for it? The taxpayer of course. Not those living below the poverty level, and certainly not big business with their built in 16,845 pages of dodges.

Filed under Blog, Income Taxes by George Bolton