NPTR: Property Tax Revolt Alert #50

[Ted Harris]

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      Tax Revolt Making Huge Progress

      ALERT: #50
      DATE: Monday, June 27, 2004
      TO: Incline Village & Crystal Bay Property Owners
      FROM: Nevada Property Tax Revolt Committee


      Dear Fellow Incline Village & Crystal Bay Property Owners,

      The Nevada Tax Commission Hearing last Friday was the culmination of many workshop meetings. At every one of these meetings, representatives from the Village League were in attendance fighting for our cause of creating equitable and improved property tax assessments.

      After several preliminary accolades and one minor wording change, the Commission unanimously voted to approve the Nevada Revised Statues that pertain to property tax appraisals. Over 50 people from Incline attended this portion of the hearings. Not only will Incline Village and Crystal Bay property owners benefit from the much improved statute changes, but so will all Nevada property owners.

      After a lengthy and hard fought year long battle arguing revisions in regulatory language, you may ask, what does the unanimous decision by the Nevada Tax Commission mean to the taxpayer? 

      Our esteemed Assessor, Bob McGowan, in his usual superficial way, would say that the "changes bring better clarity to the laws". I would say, B.S. The new policies will have profound effects on how much tax we are assessed and bring about assessment methods that are more fair and more equitable.

      No longer can the assessors do drive-bys and cherry-pick view designations. Views must be assessed from the land not the dwelling. This will have profound effects for the 6700 homes and condos in Incline and Crystal Bay by resulting in lower view classifications. The Assessors may actually have to get out of their vehicle to do an assessment. No longer will "tear downs" have all of the total value of the sale attributed to the land when, in fact, it is not a tear down at all. Tear downs must have proof that they are in fact tear downs. The new language states the land can be used as a comparable land sale "if vacant at the time of sale". 

      Why is this important? Because the land values in the neighborhoods where the so-called tear downs are will not have the inflated land value as a comparable to their house.

      These are but two significant examples of the change. We will be vigilant and diligent to ensure the intent of these changes are followed by the Assessors Office. The following article provides an excellent summary of our major victory. 

      Sincerely,

      Ted

      Ted Harris, Tax Revolt Committee Chairman
      The Village League to Save Incline Assets
      775-831-3914
      tedgh at nvbell.net
      www.NevadaPropertyTaxRevolt.org

      The Village League to Save Incline Assets Board of Directors:

        a.. Maryanne Ingemanson, President 
        b.. Ted Harris, Tax Revolt Committee Chairman 
        c.. Les Barta, Law Research 
        d.. John Carney, Analyst 
        e.. Wayne Fischer, Webmaster 
        f.. Todd Lowe, Financial 
        g.. Dale Akers, Historian 
        h.. Chuck Otto, Public Relations 
        i.. Joyce Anderson-Bock, Personal Relations 
      --------------------------------------------

      'Huge victory' for Incline tax payers

      Erin Roth
      Bonanza news editor
      June 27, 2004

      The packed Carson City legislative room erupted with applause as Nevada Tax Commission Chair Barbara Campbell announced, after a deep sigh of relief, "We now have a permanent regulation."

      Friday morning marked a "huge victory" for Incline and Crystal Bay taxpayers when the tax commission unanimously voted to change assessed property tax regulations, said Les Barta, a director for the Village League to Save Incline Assets, a local homeowners group protesting assessed property values.

      "Today is a great day," Village League President Maryanne Ingemanson said Friday. "We're thrilled to death. It is a huge win."

      The Village League with the Department of Taxation and the Tax Commission worked for almost a year to arrive at the consensus language, which was adopted into law Friday.

      "One of the avenues to effect real change is to get into the guts of language," Barta said.

      The new regulations will be effective as of July 1.

      "We expect this will bring significant relief in property taxes," he said. "Abusive appraisal methods and highly objectionable tax methods have ended."

      Past rule and regulation problems fell into the categories of tear-downs, view categories, time adjustments, condo land values and beach-rock ratings, Ingemanson explained.

      "Anytime you can make things clearer, it benefits everybody," said Washoe County Assessor Bob McGowan. "I hope this gets us to where we all want to be - at a more stable form of property evaluation. We've come a long way in making things clearer and more understandable as to what the process is and where questions arise - we have a clearer place to go." 

      The most significant results from Friday's victory include:

        a.. A property that is improved with a house may not be considered a tear-down unless it is vacant at the time of the sale and remains vacant.


        b.. All view adjustments must be made from the ground and not from the living area of the home.


        c.. The 1 percent per month time adjustment, previously used be the assessor, can go back no more than 36 months and must be based on current market evidence.


        d.. Condominium land values cannot be based on single-family residential comparable parcels, only on comparable condominium land values.


        e.. The elements of comparison that the assessor may use do not include rocks on the beach. The current assessment method adds $2,500 per foot to each change in the 5-step category made for the amount of rocks on the beaches. As the average beach width is 100 feet, just the difference between first and fifth category of the rocks can add $1,250,000 to the value of a lakefront property. 
      The new regulations will force tax assessors to adhere to a stricter framework, said Nevada Tax Commission Senior Deputy Attorney General Greg Zunino. And under the new regulations, tax payers will have a better idea how the assessor comes to his conclusions, he said.

      "This limits the assessor's discretion in determining what appraisal methodologies to employ, and it gives tax payers a better understanding of the process as well," Zunino explained.

      In anticipation of victory, the Village League hired Dr. Marvin Wolverton, a renowned appraisal expert from Las Vegas, to analyze and study how the new rules are to be applied in Incline and Crystal Bay, Ingemanson said. His study is expected to be completed by the July 20, she said.

      "What's past is past and we will move forward from now on," said Chuck Chinnok, executive director for the Department of Taxation.

      -- the end --

       
         

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