State Property Taxes - Tactics

Friday, October 10th, 2008 George Snodgrass

High property taxes create havoc on many homeowners over stressed budgets. Cumbersome methods of assessing properties based on fair market value unduly penalize homeowners who are left to the whims of the market or run away government spending.

Sadly we hear of migrations out of states with high property taxes. Government waste and inefficiency are some of the mitigating factors. Often property owners simply overlook the possibilities of appealing their real estate taxes.

Real estate property assessments should be neutral and the jargon easy to understand. They should be based on a simple and transparent basis. One suggestion is that the taxes should only be based on the original acquisition costs not a constantly changing assessment.

A further idea is to tax only the capital gains from the sale of a property. This would be the only property tax the town receives. Capital expenses would be covered by a sales tax or VAT (value added tax) instead.

Still others want to promote to cap tax increases to mirror corresponding cost-of-living boosts, and require a public vote for anything larger. Capping annual increases in value at 5 percent is a popular idea.

Property taxes can be appeal by professionals but the cost to do so is steep. The do-it-yourself method is much better if you have a reliable guide. Appraisers charge $250 for an appraisal and lawyers charge about $250 an hour. Their bill increases to show up at the municipal hearings and they offer no guarantee that you’ll win.

If your intuition tell you that you have been paying too much in property taxes you should look into it. Find a reliable property tax information guide and you will be shown specifically whether you qualify for a real estate property tax cut. Most guides don’t get into the mechanics of doing an appeal and are only a fluff overview of the process.

A workable guide offers everything needed to know to compile a persuasive property tax appeal. It will include how to examples and provide all the necessary forms. Property tax reduction for land or home is made clear and easy to implement.

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