“Property tax relief deadline for flood victims nears” plus 2 more |
- Property tax relief deadline for flood victims nears
- A crowded Berkeley ballot: Property tax measures, school board, city council, rent board seats open
- Appraisers: Reduced property tax bills will mean fewer appeals
| Property tax relief deadline for flood victims nears Posted: 19 Aug 2010 11:24 AM PDT NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee home and business owners affected by the flood in early May have only two weeks remaining to seek relief on their local property taxes. Governor Phil Bredesen signed into law a bill unanimously approved by lawmakers in May that allows local taxing districts in the 46 counties that were declared federal disaster areas to reassess homes that were damaged in the storms. Under the new law, any home that has been deemed unfit for use for more than 30 days or any home that sustained damages equal to more than 50% of the home's pre-flood value would be eligible for an assessment reduction. The law is only applicable in communities where the local governing bodies chose by two-thirds vote to participate in the tax relief program. Applications must be filed with the local property assessor's office by September 1. Tennessee businesses are also eligible for tax relief. Businesses can receive reduced assessments for their property if it was destroyed, demolished or substantially damaged and is not restored by September 1. AARP Tennessee State Director Rebecca Kelly urges property owners to apply even if they are unsure if there was enough damage to qualify for a reassessment. An inspector will visit the property and determine the amount of damage, and if a property owner is not satisfied with the final estimate they can appeal to the State Board of Equalization. In addition to the property tax flood relief, those affected by the flood also have more time to apply for the sales tax refund program offered by the Department of Revenue. Any household that qualified for FEMA aid can receive a sales tax refund of up to $2,500 for cleaning and building supplies, replacement furniture, and appliances. The purchases must be made by September 30 and the refund claim must be filed with the Tennessee Department of Revenue by November 30. To locate the property assessor for your county, visit the Division of Property Assessment's Web site. For more information about the sales tax relief, visit TN.gov/Revenue. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| A crowded Berkeley ballot: Property tax measures, school board, city council, rent board seats open Posted: 19 Aug 2010 10:02 AM PDT Election Day is shaping up to be a mind-boggling affair for Berkeley voters, with five ballot questions specific to the city and decisions on three school board seats, four City Council seats, six rent board seats and a city auditor on the Nov. 2 ballot. And those are in addition to state and national questions and elections. From a pocketbook perspective, the most important ballot questions facing city voters are two property tax measures that, if passed, will fund construction at city schools. The first, dubbed Measure I, would raise $210 million in bonds by taxing property. Rates would start at $15 for every $100,000 in value and rise to $60 for every 100,000 in value over 30 years. Measure I requires 55 percent of the vote. The money would pay for a seismic retrofit of Berkeley High School, new classrooms in elementary and prekindergarten schools, new science labs, a technology training center, new computers, solar panels on schools and new kitchens, among other projects. Both tax measures are designed to begin as two others wind down, so Berkeley property owners don't pay more than they already are paying, said school district spokesman Mark Coplan. "Their formulas have been designed to make sure that they don't add additional taxes," Coplan said. "So it will just be a continuance." The second property tax, Measure H, would raise $5 million a year to pay for maintenance of city schools. It requires two thirds of the vote to pass.That tax would charge 6.31 cents per square foot on homes and apartments, 9.46 cents per square foot on commercial properties and $20 on vacant lots for 10 years with yearly cost of living increases. That money would pay for painting, lawn mowing and other services such as maintaining fire and security alarm systems. The third voter decision is Measure R, which would set specific building guidelines for the downtown area. Measure R needs a majority of the vote to pass. The plan allows two new apartment buildings no taller than 180 feet, one new hotel with conference facilities (also no taller than 180 feet) and two mixed-use buildings no taller than 120 feet. The plan would also usher in an easier permitting process for developers who include green building features that benefit the public. The plan encourages affordable housing, improvements to "streetscapes" and gives pedestrians priority over cars and parking garages. Two more ballot questions relate to medical marijuana. In placing these two measures on the ballot, the City Council included language that allows them to make changes after they are approved -- if they're approved. The council wanted flexibility in case voters statewide approve a separate ballot question on whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The City Council included language that would let it make changes to protect against unfair or monopolistic practices in the medical marijuana industry. Measure T, which requires a majority of the vote, would allow six large-scale pot growing facilities, none larger than 30,000 square feet. If approved, there would be no buffer zone between the grow sites and public or private schools. The grow sites could not host retail sales. In addition to the grow sites, the measure would increase the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city from three to four. Dispensaries would have to have a 600-foot buffer zone between public and private schools if the measure passes. It also allows groups of residents to use 200 square feet or 25 percent of their homes to grow medical marijuana, whichever is less. And it creates a Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee and set policy for the city's medical marijuana industry. Measure S would raise taxes on medical marijuana sales and set tax rates for recreational sales if state voters legalize marijuana in November. Measure S also requires a majority vote. Taxes on medical marijuana sales would rise from the current rate of $1.20 for every $1,000 in sales to a maximum of $25 for every $1,000 in sales. If marijuana becomes legal in California after the November election, nonmedical marijuana sales will be taxed at $100 for every $1,000 in sales. Nonprofits that sell medical marijuana (or recreational marijuana if that measure passes) would be taxed $25 per square foot of the building they occupy on the first 3,000 square feet, then $10 for each square foot over 3,000. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Appraisers: Reduced property tax bills will mean fewer appeals Posted: 19 Aug 2010 08:14 AM PDT Published: August 19, 2010 Updated: 13 min. ago More than a half-million property owners in Hillsborough County will get their tax notices this week and even though everyone has the state-given right to appeal, appraisers say they don't expect as many as past years. The reason: the recession, a slumping housing market and plummeting market values of real estate. All that means reduced tax bills that could be several hundred dollars less than last year's bottom line for owners of average homes and that likely will translate into fewer gripes at the appraiser's office. Still, those unhappy over assessments or exemptions have the right to appeal, appraisers said. Last year, more than 10,000 appeals were filed, but that was down from the previous year – when the property values began plummeting – by 4,000, records show. Appellants last year didn't present the sharpest arguments, as more than half of those whose appeals made it to an independent board lost their cases. The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's Office is mailing more than a half-million notices this week informing residents and businesses what their property is worth and how much they owe. Many likely will see a lower tax bill because of the drop in property values. The Truth in Millage, or TRIM, notices started going out late Monday night. By next week, every property owner should have the notice in hand. The notices give individual millage rates charged by the half-dozen taxing authorities. Millage is the rate applied to a home's taxable value to come up with the tax due. For the third consecutive year, property values have fallen because of the sluggish economy. Sixty appraisers with the Hillsborough office are constantly updating values of more than 500,000 parcels of property to adjust assessments in accordance with market and taxable levels. The total property valuation for the county as of Jan. 1 was nearly $65 billion, down from $72.6 billion last year and $87.4 billion in 2007. Home values are down 50 to 70 percent from 2008. The falling values mean lower tax bills for most property owners. Property appraiser's officials said they typically get at least 20,000 calls from confused or dissatisfied taxpayers every year after TRIM notices go out. Warren Weathers, deputy chief property appraiser, said fewer appeals are expected this year because of the general drop in property values. Still, he said, "everybody, by state statute, is due an administrative review," if they disagree with the county's appraisal. The county's platoon of appraisers use various methods of making assessments, he said, including logging sales of homes in a neighborhood, calculating that value with other formulas. He said homes actually get visited by appraisers, even though the visit may come no closer than the curb, once every three years. Homeowners or business owners with a gripe have until Sept. 14 to file for an appeal, he said. Most disputes are resolved during the first step in the appeal, a sit-down with assessors, he said. "We'll review it as soon as somebody calls," he said. Resolving the dispute is cheaper than refusing to bend, which could lead to a circuit court case. He said that between 30 and 50 disputes end up in circuit court each year after attempts to settle fail. Out of 525,000 parcels in Hillsborough County, that's a low percentage, he said. Appeals of assessments have risen steadily since 2005, when 4,505 appeals were filed. The following year, 6,628 property owners filed appeals, rising to 9,035 in 2007. The number of appeals jumped to 14,929 in 2008, records show. Of the 10,704 appeals filed last year, nearly a third were withdrawn by homeowners with no appraisal changes made, records show and 5,539 were denied by the value adjustment board. Records show that the board sided with homeowners 440 times last year. Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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