NPTR: Fw: Bonanza Article 9-17-03

Thu Sep 18 20:13:07 PDT 2003

North Lake Tahoe Bonanza


PROPERTY OWNERS ALERT # 27

        Dear Friends,

        For your information, attached below your will find an article that appeared in the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza yesterday 
        reporting on our success with defending the Assessor's appeal on the 10% Taxable Value reduction granted to lake 
        front properties by the County Board of Equalization.  Most of the full time IV/CB residents will probably have already 
        read this article yesterday.  This is being sent for the benefit of the many property owners on our mailing list who do not live 
        full time in IV/CB.  

        For all of our out of town owners click on this link to our web site for all other articles that have appeared in the Bonanza 
        and the Reno Gazette Journal:
        http://nevadapropertytaxrevolt.org/NewsArticles.html

        Regards,

        Ted

        Ted Harris,  Chairman Tax Revolt Sub- Committee
        The Village League to Save Incline Assets
        Ph:  775-831-3914
        tedgh at nvbell.net


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           September 17, 2003 
                  Incline residents claim victory over county assessor's office
                       
                        By Rob Brockmeyer  


                  Those behind the property tax revolt scored a victory Monday in their quest to roll back recent increases in assessed value.

                  Nevada's State Board of Equalization voted to uphold the Washoe County Board of Equalization's decision to decrease the Incline Village lakefront properties assessed value by 10 percent.

                  It's a significant accomplishment in restoring equal property tax representation in Incline Village.

                  "The decision illustrates that Incline property taxes are not increasing as fast as the county assessor thinks," said Ted Harris, who chairs the taxation committee for the Village League to Save Incline Assets, the group behind the tax revolt.

                  County senior appraiser Chris Mumm said the county will not appeal the decision.

                  "You win some and you lose some. The state looked at our data and compared to others' data and made their decision. We try to do what is right for all the taxpayers in Washoe County. It just didn't work out the way we thought it should have," said Mumm, who has worked for the assessor's office for 27 years. "The state based its decision on the sluggish economy and because the current trend in the housing market showed that property up there is not going up in value."

                  A total of 126 properties received the immediate 10 percent reprieve. Mumm said the county will be out about $522,766 in tax revenues.

                  "A lot of lakefront owners have had their property (market) value stay the same and some of them have gone down in value," Harris said. "They appealed their property tax bills and the state took notice."

                  Property taxes for Incline residents have skyrocketed during the past 12 years and residents have incurred a 15.6 percent compound increase, Harris said.

                  According to Harris, the average increase for the last fiscal year is 29 percent, and in some cases, people's tax bills have risen 400 percent. One Crystal Bay residence had its annual property tax jump from $6,900 to more than $30,000, Harris said. Some lakefront owners have being paying $20,000 a month in property tax.

                  The committee blames an aggressive county assessor's office for making Incline residents pay high tax rates. The office uses three criteria to determine assessed value which the committee disputes: time value adjustments, tear down values and view classifications.

                  "These are three ways to figure property tax which are not used in the rest of Washoe County and the state of Nevada," Harris said. "That is forbidden by law."

                  "It pays to work in a group," committee board member Wayne Fischer said. "If we would have tried to fight this as individuals, we would not have accomplished what we have. It's time to get back our rights. We shouldn't have to pay two to three times more than what we should. Just because we live in a beautiful area doesn't mean we can be taken advantage of."

                  The next step in the battle against the state happens today in Carson City. Committee members will appear in front of the Nevada Department of Taxation to discuss changing a series of regulations that would affect how Incline property owners are taxed. The meeting is the second of six and will focus on two or three proposed regulations used to govern property taxes in the state. The workshops are held to refine six or seven regulations, Harris said.

                  Harris said at the first workshop, the committee opposed the basis of the initial changes in the regulations proposed.

                  The department of taxation advises and sends its findings to the Nevada Tax Commission, the ultimate authority in the state's tax decisions.

                  "We're excited that we actually have a say in how we're going to be taxed. They're listening to us," Harris said. "Eventually, we want to change the law. The law right now as it stands is not fair. There is something wrong with the law."


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