Property Tax Terrorism - It's Happening Here and Now

The housing market is still crashing but our property taxes are going up. According to this article just posted at www.propertytaxrights.com homeowners are being threatened by corrupt assessors and no one is doing anything about it.
"When a New York attorney filed a lawsuit citing the corruption she uncovered she was told by a local resident who benefitted from repeated low assessments, “Your body will be found at the bottom of the lake.” The attorney had inadvertently exposed a covert operation of property tax benefits routinely handed out by the assessors for years and those that benefitted did not want that secret revealed. The attorney was so frightened by the repeated threats that she fled the state.
Another couple who found similar documentation of assessment corruption in their neighborhood was threatened with being shot to death if their lawsuit resulted in property taxes being raised on the “friends and family” properties. The couple discovered that 85% of the residents were getting a massive tax break while 15% were made to pay higher than normal taxes to make up the difference. The couple won their case, but the state agencies refused to make the assessors’ change their ways and the friends and family plan remains in place six years later. The couple lives in seclusion amidst high security fences."
What's next??? Looks like they are bent on getting our money any way they can.

If you want to spend 300 billion dollars on a black budget for the military, the money has to come from somewhere. Its a shame that it has to come from the one thing that makes this nation great: the people.

Even if the $ value of our property taxes do not increase, the percentage does. This is something that I have heard very little talk on, but feel that it should be discussed. As the property values decrease, local governments should correspondingly adjust assessed values downward. What is actually going on, is a hidden tax increase on individual homeowners. Last year my taxes did not decrease, but yet my property value did. Let me explain:

Lets say I live in Community A with a 2.5% property tax. My house was assessed by the city for $100k. This equates to $2500 in property taxes.

Now lets say for simplicity sake, that over the last 2 years, there has been a 20% decrease in property values bringing the actual value of the house to $80k. At 2.5% property tax rate, this should equate to a $2000 property tax. However, the local government is still assessing the house at $100k and putting a $2500 tax bill to you. At an true value of $80k, the new tax equates to 3.125% property tax, an increase of 0.6%!

Its amazing how fast local governments increase the value of your home during the housing market boom, but yet slower than malasses in adjusting it downward.

OP thanks for initial post!

reply to post by ParanoidMike


I agree - this needs to be discussed and everyone who owns property needs to be warned. In so many states the assessors have unlimited power and no meaningful oversight. They can assess your property for millions of dollars over its true worth and then you have to pay the tax bill on that - regardless of how fraudulent the bill. Homeowners are all at risk, more than they know....Time to sound the alarm and wake everyone up.

It has been my belief all along that local and state governments who profit from taxing your privately owned property were complicit if not encouraging of the rapidly inflating home values and shady lending practices to maintain them.

We're surrounded by organized crime syndicates. Everyone is involved. The cops, the lawyers, the bankers, the little old lady behind the desk at the clerks office in town hall and the buffoon sitting in the Oval Office.

Some might be too stupid to realize their part. Some may genuinely believe they are working for you and against the organized theft but the reality at the end of the day is the mere existence of these offices and entities feeds the practice and corruption.

reply to post by Atom12


Good thread, glad to brought it up.

Yes mine went up by almost $2,000 from last year.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


These offices do feed corruption. All of them. I agree that some people don't even know they are part of the problem but most of the corrupt assessors know exactly what they're doing. When we caught assessors in our town red handed with super low assessments and then targeting people they didn't like or even the elderly because they are less likely to question their bill we turned them in and guess what? Nobody cared!!!! Not the DA's office, the Ag's office. They didn't see anything wrong with assessor tax evasion as long as they made up the difference with the others in town! What a bad joke on us. Now we are all scrutinizing our property record cards, filing abatements and appeals. QUESTION EVERYTHING. The property tax system is one big scam.

My husband and I were just talking about this the other night. We got our paperwork in the mail and were looking it over and saw that our home and property value had decreased again, but our property taxes were being raised. They had been just a bit over $2000 and are going up to $4000. Yet the property value showed a decrease. A $2000 jump was sure as heck not something we were expecting to see. It's not that I don't expect them to go up ever, I do, but not by the amount they just did.

I'm at a loss. I don't know if this can be appealed or where to turn for answers. Right now I'm just really frustrated about the issue.

Take care,
Cindi

reply to post by Glencairn


You can find a lot of free information for every state here at this link:
Property Tax Rights

It sounds like they raised your tax rate quite a bit and that is why you have a decrease in value but a higher bill. That you can thank your town selectboard or Mayor for. Overspending and using you as their personal ATM is what they love to do. Vote them out. As for your valuation, you should get a copy of your property record card and "pricing ladder" from your assessor. That will show you exactly what they are taxing you on. You may find errors - like buildings you don't have, square footage that is too high, etc. You should also compare your value to other like homes in your neighborhood. The assessors documents are public record and they have to turn them over to you by law. You will more than likely find that your property record card is NOT accurate. Assessors make "mistakes" all the time. It is YOUR responsibility to find them. Good luck.

reply to post by ofhumandescent


If this is a value increase that sent your property tax bill up $2,000 make sure that you check your property record card thoroughly. I can't stress this enough. We went through entire towns' records and found MILLIONS of dollars worth of major mistakes, some on purpose. Often these assessors have no real training and they count on people never checking their work. The Department of Revenue certifies their numbers by asking the assessors for 3 property record cards and DRIVING BY those homes to see if they match! Check your card, and demand answers from your assessor as to your $2,000 increase. If its not adding up file your abatement or appeal depending on what state you are in. Again, free information for every state can be found here:
Property Tax Rights

reply to post by Atom12


Thank you - will look into this.

Second line.

I live in one of the highest taxed states in the nation.
I just received my property tax statement today and
my tax went down about 50 dollars. Don't know why,
but that is 50 dollars in my pocket.

A subject close to home for me.

Anyone want a conspiracy?

Look into Tyler Technologies. A publically traded company who provides software to local and state governments for tax collection, mass appraisal systems and judicial systems.

Doesn't matter what state you are in or even what country as they provide this for Canada and Mexico also.

The biggest problem is that tax appraisal/collections systems are being done by non-government entities.


Check this out: txcountydata.com

This is the website for our Appraisal District in Texas. It's non-government. Search for contact info

All you will find is a webmaster email! A site that controls the information for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property in Texas.

This company contracts for multiple appraisal districts in Texas yet lists no address, phone number, fax, owner information or any other company information.

Back when I first looked into txcountydata.com, I thought it was crap little redneck good ol boy network for someone to make a few bucks off a backwoods county. This is not so at all.

The problem is, Tyler technologies "Technologies makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding the quality, content, completeness, accuracy, or adequacy of such information and data."

Guess what, our Appraisal District says it is not responsible for information posted on their site either.

Designed Deniability ripe for systemic corruption across our entire country.

This is a reaction by local and state gubmints,to loss of revenue.

It's going this way with absolutely everything.

Next election,vote for the guy who sez he'll work for free.

Good luck finding one.

Not only do my wife and I pay property tax on our home but here each year we also pay taxes on the vehicles. Now I paid sales tax on those vehicles when they were bought to begin with. Only one of those vehicles has held and will hold some of the value I paid for it. The others keep depreciating, the taxes though still come every year.

If I owned anything like a boat (even a small johnboat) or a small popup camper trailer I would have to pay taxes on those as well each year.

This paying taxes on things each year that I have already paid taxes on when purchased burns me up. I could choke the life out of the person who came up with such a stupid redundant idea.

Raist

reply to post by Raist
I guess it would be called "Value Subtracted Tax"......

I absolutely cannot believe more people do not see this whole system for the absolute heap of horsecrap it is.

Welcome to the "American Nightmare".

Stop feeding it.

reply to post by AP-Chris
Uh huh.....

Uh huh........

reply to post by NeedsNoName
I guess we all could benefit somehow from growing spines again then.

It hasn't always been this way.

Tomorrow in economies the size of the U.S. is about 15 to 20 years.

The gubmint has been spending like there is no tomorrow since when?.

Look back,look forward to tomorrow.

Tax is part of life.

Get over it.

Too many people complain about tax and such. However, they are usually the one who are first to jump on the benefits offering when they inevitably become unemployed.

Instead of striving to succeed people moan about taxes and money.

I have not once felt the effects of this so called recession or crunch.

I dont know what the big deal is all about.