Warning: I'm Being Quadrupled Taxed for Property Taxes

[lx43]

For the past several months I have been battling with city hall about the extremely high property taxes I and some other people have been paying to our local govts. While I was reviewing the property taxes I paid on rental and commercial property I owned I notice that assessed value of the property is way off. To be honest, I have never paid much attention to property taxes mainly because of the number of properties owned that I have to pay on; not to mention I always thought what they tell you to pay is what you have to pay---THAT IS NOT TRUE. When I began looking at the assessed value closer I realized that the assessors had been charging 4 times what the property is worth and 2 to 3 times what the structures are worth, they have been charging for phantoms structures that was never there, and even increased the acreage on some rentals beyond what I actually owned. When I confronted the tax assessors about this they immediately agreed that I was being extremely overtaxed on almost all of my property. It was almost to easy how they agreed with me when I presented the evidence. I'm not sure if they deliberately did that to defraud me, was to lazy to actually go assess the property, or what their motivation was; but they have agreed after dragging their feet to lower it to intrinsic value. It really pisses me off that I have to pay taxes to the govt on something they never helped me buy or helped me maintain. I really don't even own it because they can take it from me if I don't pay their idiotic tax. And they call this a free country?

While I was waiting for the county to respond I started looking at relatives and friends property to see if they have been overtaxed too. The answer is a resounding yes. Almost everyone I looked at are being overtaxed based on comps and appraised value of similar property.

The reason I'm telling you this is so you will pay close attention to every detail to make sure you don't overpay like I had been. REVIEW YOUR APPRAISED FORMS THE COUNTY SENDS YOU DILIGENTLY EACH YEAR!!!!!

Here is a question for you: should I take city hall to court to demand that they refund me the amount of money I've been overtaxed over the past years I been overtaxed? I have talked to some attorneys about this and they all told me it would be a very hard case to fight mainly because if I won in court that it would set a presidence that all property owners throughout my state could demand and get the amount their counties have been over taxing them over a certain number of years. The attorneys say they will do one of two things. Fight me very hard in court or settle out of court to shut me up.

[roho76]

Bump

Hit them where it hurts.

[Kotin]

I would explore how feasible it is to persue that money.. It is yours. You deserve it back..

They extorted you for more than you "agreed" to. I would see if it's possible.

[liberdom]

I really don't even own it because they can take it from me if I don't pay their idiotic tax. And they call this a free country?


what freer country has no property tax? if you don't like paying property tax, owning is not for you.

[liberdom]

Here is a question for you: should I take city hall to court to demand that they refund me the amount of money I've been overtaxed over the past years I been overtaxed? I have talked to some attorneys about this and they all told me it would be a very hard case to fight mainly because if I won in court that it would set a presidence that all property owners throughout my state could demand and get the amount their counties have been over taxing them over a certain number of years. The attorneys say they will do one of two things. Fight me very hard in court or settle out of court to shut me up.

Absolutely!

If they wanted to tax you more, they are free to raise property taxes, but they can't overassess your value, that's basically fraudulent.

[Anti Federalist]

what freer country has no property tax? if you don't like paying property tax, owning is not for you.

Nobody owns property in this country.

We are all just renters.

Try not paying your annual government rent, you'll find out very quickly who really owns your property.

That said, I can understand where the OP is coming from, so many people have no idea what they pay in property taxes.

"Oh I pay it in my mortgage".

Face. fucking. palm.

[Weston White]

what freer country has no property tax? if you don't like paying property tax, owning is not for you.

There is, as-fact, a very serious issue with imposing property taxes on non-revenue generating properties, Gouverneur Morris had long ago addressed the utter lunacy in such a notion.

[liberdom]

There is, as-fact, a very serious issue with imposing property taxes on non-revenue generating properties, Gouverneur Morris had long ago addressed the utter lunacy in such a notion.

Never said there wasn't an issue. Do you know if there's a freer country which doesn't have property taxes on non-revenue generating real estate?

[Weston White]

Never said there wasn't an issue. Do you know if there's a freer country which doesn't have property taxes on non-revenue generating real estate?

All first and second world nations have implemented nearly identical governmental infrastructures during the last century, though varying to one degree or another. While, it appears that the UK uses not a property tax but an occupancy tax upon its properties. In any case, neither does any other nation tout freedom as does America. Moreover, no other nation’s government is held to the maxims and high standards as by America’s fundaments.

[Danke]

Never said there wasn't an issue. Do you know if there's a freer country which doesn't have property taxes on non-revenue generating real estate?

All kinds of them, but then I don't know your definition of "free." Or "freer."

[liberdom]

All kinds of them, but then I don't know your definition of "free." Or "freer."

That's why I asked him, using his own definition.

[liberdom]

All first and second world nations have implemented nearly identical governmental infrastructures during the last century, though varying to one degree or another. While, it appears that the UK uses not a property tax but an occupancy tax upon its properties. In any case, neither does any other nation tout freedom as does America. Moreover, no other nation’s government is held to the maxims and high standards as by America’s fundaments.

Thanks.

[mrsat_98]

Inspect you statement very carefully. Compare the way your name and address is listed vs the way the Sheriffs name and address is listed after you review Capitis Diminutio. Its really funny when you ask them about it they will give you a funny look and tell you that is just how the government does it. Next time I am going to bring a copy and ask them if you lie to people about everything or just about this.

[Kluge]

I'd go public with this, if it's happening to you, it's happening to a lot of other people. With public opinion on your side, attorneys may look at your case differently.

Oh yeah, and keep records of everything that they say, that you say, that they do and that you do.

[P3ter_Griffin]

I got $5k, ~6%, of our appraised value knocked off the year we bought our house. No offense, but you f'ed up badly allowing them to appraise you properties at 400% of their value. How did you not notice?

If I were you I'd sue. The only defense they could use is that your property is in fact worth what it was appraised at, but it sounds like they already admitted it wasn't. If your interested looking at some similar cases, here in WI Walgreens has sued several municipalities for inflated appraisals and won, I believe one of the cases went to the SC.

[Acala]

Think twice about arguing for a lower appraisal if you plan on selling the property anytime soon as the lower appraisal will be used to try and bid down your sale price and might even make it harder for your buyer to get financing.

[oyarde]

Actually , where I live , most properties are over assessd , I spent a few minutes filling out a one page form to contest a rental property that was assessd for about 40k more than reality , about a year and a half later , they met me about halfway in the middle , knocked 22k off , at the rental rate , saved me close to $45 a month . Over assessment , continually raising assessments is how they continue to grow revenue , since the percentages are capped . If you let them ... If I did not think so highly of the young family living in that property , I would have been tempted to quit paying the taxes on that property a long time ago and let the Sheriff auction it.

[oyarde]

Property taxes are immoral.

[oyarde]

If you have an assessment that has gone up since 07 , you were stolen from .

[RonPaulMania]

Here is a question for you: should I take city hall to court to demand that they refund me the amount of money I've been overtaxed over the past years I been overtaxed? I have talked to some attorneys about this and they all told me it would be a very hard case to fight mainly because if I won in court that it would set a presidence that all property owners throughout my state could demand and get the amount their counties have been over taxing them over a certain number of years. The attorneys say they will do one of two things. Fight me very hard in court or settle out of court to shut me up.

You are entitled in most states to go for 3 years of over-paid taxes and yes fight for them. There are attorneys who specialize in this field for a % of the refund. Go get the a-holes.

[RonPaulMania]

Think twice about arguing for a lower appraisal if you plan on selling the property anytime soon as the lower appraisal will be used to try and bid down your sale price and might even make it harder for your buyer to get financing.

Incorrect, assessments by the county are not appraisals. Depending on the county they base the assessments on ratios to true market value. Your assessment has NOTHING to do with your actual value, only appraisers give actual value, not county assessments.

[loveshiscountry]

Nobody owns property in this country.

We are all just renters.

Try not paying your annual government rent, you'll find out very quickly who really owns your property.

That said, I can understand where the OP is coming from, so many people have no idea what they pay in property taxes.

"Oh I pay it in my mortgage".

Face. fucking. palm.Buddy of mine had been paying on his house since 1995 and had it refinanced once. He never knew about the homestead exemption that lowered the taxable value. It'll save him ~$750 this year plus he'll get a bit more than that back from the previous year. That is as far back as he can go. "Isn't my income tax preparer supposed to handle that?"

[gerryb]

F
Here is a question for you: should I take city hall to court to demand that they refund me the amount of money I've been overtaxed over the past years I been overtaxed? I have talked to some attorneys about this and they all told me it would be a very hard case to fight mainly because if I won in court that it would set a presidence that all property owners throughout my state could demand and get the amount their counties have been over taxing them over a certain number of years. The attorneys say they will do one of two things. Fight me very hard in court or settle out of court to shut me up.

If you are really ambitious...

Find a candidate to run as the revenue agent(if it is an elected position, here in Virginia and in other states it is -- per county)

They get paid good money(albeit stolen) and have a staff. I much rather have a libertarian staff working there than a statist staff...

This is a good issue to run on. If you can help fund a candidate, you can win. Do some analysis and create reports for all of the overtaxed properties. Mail this report out to them all, with information about your candidate, and a fundraising plea to defeat the incumbent and fix the situation. Hit them at every public meeting about their bad data and unjust practices against middle america.

[Schifference]

It seems like property tax is a tax on existence. You cannot be a squatter. You need shelter therefore this tax taxes your actual existence and there is no way to avoid it. Renters pay the tax because the cost of the rental factors in the tax.

[oyarde]

It seems like property tax is a tax on existence. You cannot be a squatter. You need shelter therefore this tax taxes your actual existence and there is no way to avoid it. Renters pay the tax because the cost of the rental factors in the tax. Correct , renters pay the Landlords tax , it is an existence tax , thus immoral...

[LadyBastiat]

There is, as-fact, a very serious issue with imposing property taxes on non-revenue generating properties, Gouverneur Morris had long ago addressed the utter lunacy in such a notion.

Ditto.

[Anti Federalist]

Buddy of mine had been paying on his house since 1995 and had it refinanced once. He never knew about the homestead exemption that lowered the taxable value. It'll save him ~$750 this year plus he'll get a bit more than that back from the previous year. That is as far back as he can go. "Isn't my income tax preparer supposed to handle that?"

SMH...go figure, right?

[lx43]

You are entitled in most states to go for 3 years of over-paid taxes and yes fight for them. There are attorneys who specialize in this field for a % of the refund. Go get the a-holes.

Do you know any that I can contact or how I can find there contact information?

[lx43]

I would explore how feasible it is to persue that money.. It is yours. You deserve it back..

They extorted you for more than you "agreed" to. I would see if it's possible.

Sorry for the slow response. I’ve decided to pursue the money legally in court if I’m able to find an attorney that is willing to take the case without charging a huge amount of money upfront. I want the attorney to specialize in tax law.



what freer country has no property tax? if you don't like paying property tax, owning is not for you.

I have every right to own property. Having the right to my life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness is every person’s right.

Are you suggesting I don’t have a right to own property because I oppose that tax? If I applied your analogy to you working for a job I could say that you don’t like paying income taxes and therefore you should stop working because there are no free nations that doesn’t require its slaves, I mean citizens to pay personal income tax. That’s hog wash, you have a right to earn a living like I have right to own property (although we all know no one actually owns the property since the govt can take it for not paying my sharecropper fee and everyone knows you don’t own yourself because you are enslaved by the govt to pay their income tax.)




I got $5k, ~6%, of our appraised value knocked off the year we bought our house. No offense, but you f'ed up badly allowing them to appraise you properties at 400% of their value. How did you not notice?

If I were you I'd sue. The only defense they could use is that your property is in fact worth what it was appraised at, but it sounds like they already admitted it wasn't. If your interested looking at some similar cases, here in WI Walgreens has sued several municipalities for inflated appraisals and won, I believe one of the cases went to the SC.

I agree I did mess up very badly.