Property Tax Delinquency and Duration

This has certainly been a pet peeve of the Forum and the Standard jumped on the bandwagon today with this Jesus Lopez Jr. article: 

Property tax delinquency and duration

From the article:

Although the number of delinquent payers is improving, however, the county is seeing a different trend -- people being delinquent for a longer time.
"We are seeing more people that are more delinquent than they were," said Weber County Treasurer John B. Bond.

The article goes on to state:

The overall number of delinquent taxpayers is also relatively low. On average, less than 10 percent of all properties in Davis and Weber counties are delinquent. In good times, however, the number is usually closer to 5 percent.
Yet the dollar amount averages in the millions.
In Weber County, about $11.8 million in taxes were delinquent for 2009. In Davis County, it was about $13.1 million for 2009.
The year before, 2008, saw the highest number of delinquencies in the area.
"That also falls in line with the significant financial challenge that hit at that time," Bond said.
Weber had about $11.4 million in delinquencies in 2008, which was a jump from about $8.3 million the previous year. Davis County more than doubled in 2007 with $15.7 million compared with $7.6 million in 2006.
Of those delinquent, the highest dollar amounts belong to business and real estate developers. The average number of delinquencies is about the same between homeowners and businesses.

Hmmm, are we the only ones confused here?

• In Weber County the delinquencies have increased from $7.8 million in 2006 to over $11 million in 2010.
• Additionally, "...on average, less than 10 percent of all properties in Davis and Weber counties are delinquent. In good times, however, the number is usually closer to 5 percent."
• The total for delinquencies is near the high for the last five years, and there are twice as many delinquent properties than in good times.
• "Of those delinquent, the highest dollar amounts belong to business and real estate developers. The average number of delinquencies is about the same between homeowners and businesses."

Yet, the county continued to allow these same delinquent developers to get further in the hole for years by allowing them to create more subdivisions and get more approvals while the rest of us faithfully paid our taxes.

Guest Post "Wolf Creek doesn't pay it fair share!"

I know that this may not matter with Wolf Creek in bankruptcy already but according to the Weber County Website as of yesterday Wolf Creek has over $171,968.48 in delinquent property tax bills on over 22 parcels of land in Weber County.  Many have not been paid since 2007.  I know that times are tough now but why was nothing paid in 2008.  The county bends over backwards to approve nearly everything Wolf Creek does yet they can not pay their taxes like the rest of us.

Cole Schlack

Eden, UT

HB 246 Fails - The Bill to aid Large lot owners

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Rep Gage Froerer's HB 246 has failed. From the story:

Froerer estimated that the large-lot owners would benefit by an average $160 tax decrease and other property owners would pay an extra $1.50.

Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, opposed the bill on that basis.

"This is both class warfare and bad policy," he said.

The bill faced opposition from many fronts, with the Tribune penning an editorial opposing the bill in its February 16, 2009 issue calling the bill a "Manor Exemption." Four days prior, on February 12, 2009, the Tribune mentioned the bill had passed committee 11-1 and was heading to the full house - the sub title read 'Assessor says the measure would shift burden.' The bill ultimately died in the house but was revived in the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, where it failed today 2-4.

We applaud Rep. Froerer for his efforts this legislative session.

Delinquent Property Taxes

In today's Standard Examiner is an important Guest Commentary regarding delinquent property taxes. This is important information for all property tax payers.

Gage Froerer has a bill HB 418, which will address this unfair tax collection process in the Utah House under consideration at this moment. We hope this bill will result in an increase of on time tax collections that will benefit all those taxpayers that pay their property taxes on time.

The Fleecing of Utah Proprerty Tax Payers

Blogmeister note: This is one of three important posts today. Make sure you read all three and be sure to weigh in with your pithy comments.

In the last few months the flaws in the property tax collection system has become more apparent:

1.We have determined recently that the interest charged on the delinquent property taxes under the current tax law is simple interest and not compounded interest.

2. It is now clear there are chronic delinquent property tax payers in Utah to the tune of $14 million in Weber County, and well over $100 million dollars statewide, that consistently withhold their property tax payments rather than pay them on November 30th each year.

3. Unless HB 23 (Rep. Hunsaker) passes in this session, the State and counties will continue to collect about $60 million in delinquent taxes annually that are not reflected in each county's certified tax rate throughout the State. This means that the taxpayers never realize the benefit of the collected funds that could lower future property taxes. Simply stated, unless HB 23 passes, the counties will continue to budget as if they have never collected these delinquent taxes.

4. The current penalty and interest for delinquent taxes is not sufficient to encourage large businesses and property owners to pay their taxes on time. The State legislature should approve a significant increase in the penalty and interest, and the interest should be compounded to discourage the use of the tax collection system as a low interest loan.

Most organized groups seem to oppose any change in the property tax laws based on the argument that any change in the tax laws usually will shift the tax burden to someone else in the state. This proposed increase in penalty, interest, and compounding the delinquent interest will ONLY impact those that choose to pay their taxes late. If these delinquent taxpayers pay their property taxes on November 30th along with most Utah citizens, they won't have to pay a dime in penalties or interest.

Utah counties have a tax review committee that reviews appeals, extensions and possible waivers on penalties and interest regarding property taxes. This is done on a case by case basis and should continue. This process protects those that are in financial trouble so they would not lose their property.

The present property tax collection system is favorable to those large delinquent taxpayers who continue to exploit this tax loophole at the expense of the majority of Utah property taxpayers. This is a statewide issue and affects every Utah property taxpayer.

If this sounds like a call to arms, it is. With over $100 million in delinquent propert taxes due State wide, and another $60 million in paid delinquent taxes not part of the accounting process every year, the average Utah taxpayer needs help. They are not getting it from most elected officals at any level in the State. Despite notification to the media in our area and Salt Lake, no major media outlet will touch this story. Seldom will any of us have a chance to influence such a clear cut issue. When you consider how long this process has been going on and what these issues have cost the Utah taxpayers, the urgency of action speaks for itself.

Larry and Sharon Zini

Support HB 418 - Everyone should pay their property taxes on time!

Gage Froerer is writing a bill, HB418 to help reduce the amount of property taxes that are NOT paid on time. This bill will increase the penalty and Interest for delinquent taxes only, and could add millions into Weber County’s and other Utah County’s cash flow every year. For the tax year of 2008 in Weber County, the amount is over $9 million in delinquent taxes due last November.

The abuse of the tax loophole is a statewide problem as well, to the tune of over $100 million dollars, so any property tax payer that pay their taxes on Nov. 30th each year should get involved in supporting this bill. The higher penalty and interest will discourage those large landowners and business people who exploit this tax loophole every year. They will be forced to reevaluate the penalty and interest costs and most will pay their property taxes on time.

This also means that even with the increased penalties and interest, NO taxpayers will be affected by this higher penalty and interest at all if they pay their property taxes on time.

We suggest you contact family and friends all over Utah and have them contact their State Legislators in support of this bill, HB418.

Our local legislators are Gage Froerer gfroerer@utah.gov and Allan Christensen achristensen@utahsenate.org

Larry and Sharon Zini

HB246 Out of Committee in Legislature

Good news on the bill HB 246 from Gage Froerer. Last year, he could not get this bill out of committee. This would be a big deal for those that were forced by zoning to buy larger lots in Ogden Valley, but could not claim the 45% residential execempton beyond one acre. All residents should consider supporting this bill. If it passes, it may be the first step towards significant property tax reductions in Ogden Valley.

It is time to support the first real opportunity to lower property taxes in a long time. In addition, Gage Froerer is writing a bill on delinquent property taxes as well. If we could get behind that bill HB 418, and get it passed,
most taxpayers will find it worthwhile to pay their taxes on time including the chronic delinquent tax payers.


Larry and Sharon Zini

Editors Note: 2/12/2009 @ 10:50 PM:
While we scooped all of the Print press, the Salt Lake Tribune was not far behind. Be sure to read their related article here.

URGENT MESSAGE - Contact legislators tonight! Then read the Standard Article

We just received this urgent message via email and it warrants IMMEDIATE action:

Hello everyone. Here are the names and emails of those who sit on the
revenue and taxation committee down at the Legislature. Please email and
ask them to approve HB 246 (residential exemption) at tomorrow morning’s 
meeting.
Thank you.

Attached is a copy of the article about it; also, a sample letter.

Also, please contact and pass this on to anyone you know whose home sits on more
than one acre.

It needs to go out this evening (Wednesday). Sorry for the late notice.
We only heard Monday that the hearing on the bill was postponed.

Rep. Sheryl L. Allen - sherylallen@utah.gov
Rep. Tim M. Cosgrove - tcosgrove@utah.gov
Rep. John Dougall - jdougall@utah.gov
Rep. Susan Duckworth - sduckworth@utah.gov
Rep. Julie Fisher - jfisher@utah.gov
Rep. Wayne A. Harper - wharper@utah.gov
Rep. Gregory H. Hughes - greghughes@utah.gov
Rep. Erik K. Hutchings - ehutchings@utah.gov
Rep. Christine A. Johnson - christinejohnson@utah.gov
Rep. Carol Spackman Moss - csmoss@utah.gov
Rep. Merlynn T. Newbold - merlynnnewbold@utah.gov
Rep. Stephen E. Sandstrom - ssandstrom@utah.gov
Rep. Jennifer M. Seelig - jseelig@utah.gov
Rep. Evan J. Vickers - evickers@utah.gov

UPDATE 9 PM, 2/11/09

After you have contacted the legislators, be sure to
read the Standard Article about delinquent taxes.

The Rip Off of the Average Utah Taxpayer

If you have been following the Ogden Valley Forum posts on delinquent property taxes, you should be aware of the long term misuse of the property tax collection system in Weber County and other Utah counties.

Simply stated, the current property tax collection process used by Weber County and other Utah counties, has provided a tax loophole for some business and developer property owners who choose to use it to avoid paying their yearly property taxes for up to almost 5 years before sale or foreclosure. During this time period of non payment, they are assessed only a 2% penalty and about 6.5% interest. In effect, this a low cost loan courtesy of the County and State (which really means the rest of the taxpayers).

We, the other taxpayers meanwhile provide the money for the State and County services when we pay our property taxes on time every year.

We have contacted our Weber County Commissioners and after much hand wringing on their part, they have investigated and determined there is currently about $14 million in delinquent and uncollected property taxes in Weber County.

In our discussions and correspondence with the Weber County officials and the Utah State Tax Commission, we have received some vague answers on why this tax loophole exists and varied opinions on whether it is a good thing for Utah taxpayers or not.

We feel the best way to address this issue and in order to clear up the confusion and any inaccurate information, would be to list the questions we are most frequently asked and the answers to those questions.

1. Q: State Representative Gage Froerer is proposing a bill in the State Legislature (HB 418) that may increase the delinquent tax penalty (from 2% to 10%) and interest (from 6.5% to 18%) on delinquent taxes. What would that accomplish?

A: The bill will increase significantly the amount of paid taxes into the County and State coffers as of November 30th of each tax year. This will provide more cash flow for services, education and all property tax funded government applications. Most individuals and corporations that use the current system to defer paying their yearly property taxes will quickly realize it will be very difficult to earn a larger return with other investments. These suggested increases are high but lower rates would encourage the same behavior by delinquent taxpayers in the future when other available investments for their money improved.

2. Q: If they raise the penalties and interest, who will be affected, and what about those small property owners that may be struggling with their property taxes?

A: Any increase in the penalty and interest rate will affect ONLY THE DELINQUENT TAXPAYERS! It will not add to current property taxes, and in the long term, the additional funds collected may reduce your taxes or delay the timeframe for future property tax increases.

For those property owners that appeal their tax bills for various reasons, Weber County and most counties have a Tax Review Committee to consider the appeals, grant extensions, and/or waiver requests on property taxes. This Committee functions in Weber County today and should continue to provide the taxpayers an opportunity to be heard on tax related issues on a case by case basis.

3. Q: I have been told that the current collection law has worked well for the counties, State, and the taxpayers, so why change it?

A: With the astounding amount of uncollected and delinquent money involved statewide (in excess of $100 million) and in Weber County ($14 million), during a time when sales tax revenue is down, cutbacks and layoffs are increasing every day within the counties and State, it is not difficult to conclude that any additional significant revenue would be helpful to all government agencies.

4. Q: Can the Utah County governments also enhance their tax collection methods to help reduce the amount of the delinquent and uncollected taxes within their County?

A: Weber County could require the Assessor's office to review the tax records to identify taxpayers that may be illegally claiming the residential tax exemption on more than one property. Weber County could also expand the subdivision ordinance regarding delinquent taxes to deny any further county assistance to a property owner that owes delinquent taxes on ANY parcel of land in Weber County.

It may be helpful to ask our elected leaders: If the current loophole in the law is really a good deal for the taxpayer and governments as some would have us believe, why haven’t our State and County leaders told EVERYONE to use this tax loophole and defer their property tax payments on November 30th each year instead paying on time?

We should be demanding answers from our County and State leaders on this delinquent tax issue. It is daunting to think of how long this collection procedure has provided this tax loophole for the deliberate delinquent taxpayers, and how much has it has cost the other Utah taxpayers over the years?

In addition, any tax collection system that provides a tax advantage for large property owners and businesses to defer property taxes for almost 5 years while most of the other taxpayers are expected to pay their taxes on time is arbitrary and unacceptable.

The final question may be, what are our elected officials going to do about this inequitable property tax collection law? Our County leaders claim this must be solved at the State level, but we feel our County Commissioners can also assist with additional tax collection methods within the County. The County leadership should also be the most prominent voices in Salt Lake urging the legislature and Governor to take immediate remedial action on this issue by increasing the penalty and interest on delinquent property taxes.

We urge you to contact your state and county representatives to right this obvious wrong. We do have the support of the Utah
Taxpayers Association on this issue.

Larry and Sharon Zini

Our Property Tax Pain---Part Two

As indicated in our last post, we have brought the facts of the unfair application of the Property Tax collection process to the attention of the Weber County Commission. We have also asked Gage Froerer our State Representative and Allen Christensen our State Senator to weigh in.

We have contacted Governor Huntsman’s office and been referred to the Utah State Tax Committee on this matter. We feel it is ironic that the Governor is talking about cutbacks and job layoffs when all this uncollected and delinquent money is out there ($100 Million in Utah, Salt Lake, Davis and Weber Counties alone) waiting to be collected.

We can report that the Weber County Commission is investigating and has found that about $14 million is owed in Weber County in delinquent property taxes as of this date.

Simply stated, the current property tax collection process used by Weber County and other Utah counties, has provided a loophole for some business and developer property owners who choose to use it to avoid paying their yearly property taxes for up to almost 5 years before sale or foreclosure. During this time period of non payment, they are assessed only a 2% penalty and about 6.5% interest. In effect, this a low cost loan courtesy of the County and State (which really means the rest of us taxpayers).

We, the other taxpayers meanwhile provide the money for the State and County services when we pay our property taxes on time every year.

We have suggested to Gage Froerer and Allen Christensen that they sponsor a bill to increase the penalty to 10% and the interest to 18%. (California’s current rates) to encourage these delinquent taxpayers to pay on time, and that change could put millions of dollars back into the tax cash flow for the County and State. This additional influx of usable tax funds could delay new tax increases and in the long term, possibly reduce future property taxes.

This penalty and interest change would ONLY affect delinquent taxpayers and would not change the property tax appeal process or the County Commissioner’s ability to rule on waivers or appeals as they do now.

The intent of this change is to target the elite, mostly large landowners and businesses that exploit this tax loophole to avoid taxes until the last moment and thus place the tax burden on the rest of us.

One final point, if this current collection process is such a good deal for the counties and State as some have said, and the taxes are always paid in the end, why doesn't the Governor and all of our political leaders go before the public and encourage them to use this same tax loophole? If it is a good thing for the large property and business owners, why is it not good enough for the rest of us to defer our property taxes for more than four years?

We remind you that this tax issue affects all Weber County and Utah property taxpayers and we encourage you to write or call our leaders at the County and State levels. As long as this current collection process remains unchanged, you, the on time taxpayers will be paying the upfront tab.


Larry and Sharon Zini

Contact Numbers:
Governor Huntsman: 801-538-1000 or 800-705-2464


Allen Christensen, State Senator: achristensen@utahsenate.org
801-782-5600

Gage Froerer, State Representative: gfroerer@utah.gov
801-391-4233

Weber County Commissioners: 801-399-8406

cdearden@co.weber.ut.us
jzogmaister@co.weber.ut.us
kbischof@co.weber.ut.us

The Hidden Pain of our Property Tax System.

It has become obvious in recent months that the property tax collection efforts as applied in Weber County have some serious flaws. It has come to our attention that there is possibly millions of dollars of uncollected and delinquent property taxes listed on the Weber County Web site.

The immediate response from the County Commission was that the Utah State Tax code prevents them from more aggressive collection of property taxes. That is simply not true. Section 59-2-1358 clearly provides the county with ample latitude to collect these delinquent taxes up to the final act of foreclosure.

In fact, the County did pass a minor change in 2008 regarding subdivisions that provides better leverage to collect delinquent accounts. This could be expanded beyond subdivisions to include all delinquent taxes from any developer. Weber County has many options that could be explored with some innovative thinking and application.

Our subsequent e-mail to Jan Zogmaister included some possible options for the County to consider for collection prior to foreclosure.

It is our unhappy duty to report that according to Jan Zogmaister today, the Commission is already involved in many issues regarding the county and state and she did not mention any plans to investigate or rectify this tax issue.

All the information below on taxes is available at the Weber County Web Site; it is part of the public record.

We took a sample of just 6 property owners in Ogden Valley where we live, and found that those six owe $334,000 in delinquent property taxes just for the tax year of 2007. We also found that most of them owe more for other years including the tax year of 2008.

If this sample in Ogden Valley is indicative of the entire Weber County tax base, there could be millions of uncollected and delinquent property taxes due in our County.

What makes this unacceptable is that the rest of the property owners that pay their property taxes on time, bear the burden of carrying these delinquent accounts until they are paid. In some cases this may take up to 5 years since many delinquent tax payers wait for the sale of their property before paying.

The most insidious hidden part of this process is when the land or home is sold and the delinquent taxes are finally paid, the selling property owners increase the price of the property to cover the delinquent taxes plus the penalty and interest that they pay for being delinquent. This additional cost for the property works it’s way into the tax evaluation system and results in higher property taxes for everyone in the area.

If anyone is under the impression that this is a insignificant amount of money, we suggest you visit the Weber County Web Site and review the delinquent lists starting in 2008, and back several years.

In addition, we would suggest your read the article by Lee Davidson in the Deseret News today regarding delinquent taxes.

This is a major misuse of taxpayer money, in effect almost a “Ponzi” scheme with taxpayer money. If you are unhappy about “carrying” these delinquent tax payers to the tune of millions of dollars, let your county commissioners and the Utah Governor know about it. The e-mail addresses for all Utah officials can be found at the VCRD web site http://vcrdutah.org/county.html.

Larry and Sharon Zini

Froerer Property Tax Relief Bill

Below is an overview of a residential property tax exemption bill that will be proposed by Representative Gage Froerer in the 2009 General Session of the Utah Legislation.

If passed the bill will provide relief for many residential property owners in Weber County and elsewhere who were required by county ordinance to build their homes on larger than one acre of land. The bill would also provide a vehicle for counties to penalize those individuals that illegally claim the homeowner’s exemption on multiple properties within the state.

We recommend that you give this bill your consideration, and if in agreement with it’s intent, e-mail, write or call your state representatives and senators in support of 2009FL-0057/001.

Sharon and Larry Zini

2009FL-0057/001
PROPERTY TAX - RESIDENTIAL
EXEMPTION
2009 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH

General Description:
This bill amends provisions of the Property Tax Act relating to the residential property tax exemption.

Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
• Amends the size of residential property that may qualify for a residential exemption due to a local zoning requirement for residential property;

• Provides that a county assessor may require an owner of residential property to file a statement showing that the property qualifies for the residential exemption with the county assessor if:
-- the residential property is sold; or
-- the county assessor has reason to believe that the residential property no longer qualifies for the residential property tax exemption;

• Provides a penalty for falsely obtaining a residential property tax exemption;

• Defines terms; and

• Makes technical changes.

Effective date.
This bill takes effect on January 1, 2010.

To read the proposed bill in its entirety, click here.

Property Taxes to supplement Sales Tax?

A recent news story stated that increased property taxes may be needed because sales tax revenue is down in Utah. This may not be a bad idea if the collection of property taxes and the prosecution of tax scofflaws were effective in Utah and Weber County. How can the county increase property taxes when they don’t seal off the loopholes used by land owners to avoid staying current on their property taxes?

My husband and I live in Ogden Valley. Fourteen months ago we brought to the attention of Commissioners Craig Dearden and Jan Zogmaister the fact that both the Weber County Planning and the Building Permit departments were granting construction petitions to developers and builders despite the fact that the petitioners had delinquent property taxes on their property. To our knowledge there still has not been any action taken to remedy this situation. In addition, we also found out that many multiple property owners in the county are claiming the primary residence tax exemption on more than one piece of property. These two problems certainly cost Weber County many thousands of dollars in revenue and restrict the cash flow into County coffers.

Despite several additional direct letters to our Weber County Commissioners on these matters (with no response), it appears that the good old boys and girl of the County Commission will continue to ignore these facts and will not take any definitive steps to close off these loopholes to improve county tax collections.

One has to wonder if every citizen did not pay their property tax on time like these scofflaws, what the revenue stream would look like for Weber County. The fine for late payment should be at least 20% for delinquent property taxes in Weber County and developers should not be granted new permits to develop or build within the county until they are current on their existing property taxes.

What makes this all so ironic, is at a general meeting in Ogden Valley over a year ago about property taxes, a Deputy Tax Assessor opened the meeting by saying to about 500 residents that the biggest property tax problem in Weber County is UNCOLLECTED PROPERTY TAXES!

Sharon Zini

Utah Home Values

The property tax payers in Utah should be asking some serious
questions of their County Tax Assessors office.

According to the latest NBC news report, home values across
the country have dropped 19% in the last year. Some areas such
as California, Nevada and Florida have dropped up to 34%.

The Weber County Assessors office would have you believe that Utah’s
home values are somehow immune from this nationwide drop in
value so they can continue to raise or not reduce your property taxes.
A person in Utah that now pays $3,000 a year in property taxes would realize a $570 drop in taxes if their property were assessed 19% below the previous year.

Some examples: Salt Lake City zip 84108 has had a reduction in home values of
18.39%, Holladay, zip 84117 has had a reduction in value of 14.63%.
These stats are from A Real Estate website in Salt Lake County.
It is reasonable to accept that the drop in values may not be exactly the same
in Weber County, but all we receive are tax increases from our Weber County
Assessor when the entire housing market is dropping in value.

The problem with the Assessors office is they do not readily share
the key information with the taxpayers on how they arrive at the
assessments. From what can be learned, they are inconsistent
and arbitrary and it is difficult to get an explanation when you
have questions.

The Weber County Assessor has to be responsible to some entity,
and it may be the 3 Weber County Commissioners. We should write
and call their offices to get some answers.

Your VCRD Staff

Representative Froerer's Proposed Bill On Property Tax Hearings

We just received an email from Representative Froerer and are happy to pass along his proposed bill on property tax hearings that will be discussed at the next Rev and Tax meeting on October 15th.

Representative Froerer has requested feedback, so read it over and let him know your thoughts.

Don't let the cat get your tongue!

Guest Post from State Rep. Gage Froerer on Property Tax Reform

As you know, I have been actively working as a member of the Revenue and Taxation Committee to come up with solutions to our property tax problem in the Valley and the State of Utah. The time is now for definite action if we want to make any changes in the existing tax system in the next legislative session. I would ask each of you to review the issue as presented below and get back to me before mid October with your ideas and suggestions.

The Problem As I View It!
Predictability is the foundation of a fair and soundly administered tax system. Most importantly, a predictable tax system ensures tax certainty for taxpayers. "Tax certainty" means that taxpayers can, year after year, consistently expect a predictable tax bill.

No one likes an unpleasant surprise when it comes to paying taxes. Taxpayers want to be certain as to what their tax liability will be and when the taxes are due. Tax certainty improves both taxpayer compliance and support for the tax system. Taxpayers lose confidence in the tax system, and view it as arbitrary and unfair, if it cannot provide a predictable and stable tax obligation.

Tax certainty is especially critical under the property tax. The property tax is the only tax where the government determines the tax to be paid and then sends a bill to collect the tax that is due -- months after the assessment. Unlike sales or income taxes where tax choices are largely in the hands of the taxpayer, a taxpayer's property tax liability is determined and controlled, in large measure, by the government.

Utah's current property tax system, based on fair market value (FMV), does not ensure tax certainty for taxpayers. Difficulties in accurately determining fair market value on a mass basis, volatile housing prices, shifting tax burdens, and tax rate increases, have led to dramatic increases in property taxes for many Utah taxpayers.

Improving Taxpayer Certainty for Property Taxpayers
Improving taxpayer certainty will help restore taxpayer confidence in the property tax system. Under my proposal, property taxpayers can be certain that their annual property tax liability will nearly always be within certain bounds.

Highlights of the plan include (click here to view):


Issues for Discussion and Comment

1. Should this plan apply to residential property only? (Owner occupied and/or rental?) Or all locally assessed property? (No change is contemplated for personal property or centrally-assessed property.)

2. Should this plan require a dynasty provision? How are property transfers between spouses treated? Between generations?

3. Should this plan allow a transferring of the "fixed basis" from one house to another? Within counties? Between
counties? How many times? Age limit?

4. How to handle drop-in housing prices? Drop below either base year level or acquisition value?

5. Is the "growth factor" set statewide or will it vary by region?

6. How to handle new construction on raw land when no sale occurs. How is the tax basis determined? Cost basis?

I look forward to your comments and suggestions and I can ensure you that by working together, we can make a difference in our County and State.

Comments should be sent to Gage Froerer prior to October 15th.

Gage Froerer
District 8 State House of Representatives.
801-391-4233
gfroerer@utah.gov

One Idea on Property Tax Reform

Blogmeister Update: Be sure to view the Property Tax Reform Web Site that we have linked prominently in the right column under the ACTION ALERT.

Below is one suggestion for some property tax relief for Utah citizens. There are many other possible approaches, but the citizens of Utah need to get their constructive views to their elected representatives.

We feel the place to make changes is in the movement of education funding from property taxes (50-60% of the bills) to consumer (sales) taxes. This would result in an immediate reduction in property taxes for almost everyone, and would spread the education tax load more equitably to all consumers across the state. The legislature could enact a trigger property tax supplement if sales revenues were not high enough in an off sales year. We think the public reaction would be favorable with the exception of the education people (UEA), but so many retired and low income Utah residents may be unable to pay the looming property tax bills if something definitive is not passed this year.

It is difficult to fathom the opposition of the UEA in Utah to almost any property tax reform. This approach would not have to change the amount the educational system receives, it would just change the source. Two states, Michigan and Georgia, have passed similar legislation.

Failure to act positively by our state legislature may force the Utah voters to take matters into their own hands with a statewide tax initiative similar to Proposition 13 in California in the 1970s.

Let your voices be heard! Write to the tax Committee chairmen listed in the earlier post and write to our State Senator and State Representative as well!


Larry and Sharon Zini

vote against incumbents...they have earned our disdain said...

This comment promoted to the front page

vote against incumbents...they have earned our disdain said...

Truthfully, if anyone (other than direct relatives) vote for incumbents at the County level... (Dearden is up for re-election this year), or the State Legislative level (Representative Gage Froerer is up for reelection), they deserve to continue to pay and pay and pay more and more property taxes and fees.

If you vote to keep Commissioner Dearden and Representative Froerer in office, I would suggest you are simply uninformed ...or ignorant. When Bishoff and Zogmaster and Assessor Cheryl Madson come up for reelection, we need to also remember them too. Senator Christenson has done nothing in office but attend boon doggles and accept bribes disguished as hunting trips, etc.

We all need to remember last year, and previous years they have been in office. The legislation they have passed, like the developer's dream bill, HB 466 (Powderville enabling), and many other realtor/developer friendly legislation and decisions are arrogant and blatantly offensive to decent people and rightful thinking citizens.

Representative Froerer sponsored a bill to make it legal for developers to by-pass local Planning Commissions and to go directly to County Commissions, for example. And there is more...much more, from a rabid "lapdog" of the Utah Realtor's Association...Gage Froerer. He said and did nothing while Ogden Valley property taxes continue to shoot through the roof. He said nothing while the illegal and outrageous HB 466 passed without a single vote, nor question, raised against its authors...The Utah Realtor Association. Previous to 2006 when he was "elected", Froerer served as the President of this nefarious organization.

Why would anyone want another Realtor/Developer representing our District (Ogden Valley or Ogden)? Oh...I also forgot...there ARE more than 10,000 members of the Utah Realtor's Association. They of course will virtually all be voting for more of the same graft and corruption within the Utah State Legislature. Their "dues" (amounting to more than $10,000,000
a year, are funneled into PACs (Political Action Committees), often disguised such as "The Citizens for Personal Property Rights" ironically, which are used to pay off about 60% of the Utah State legislators. This outright bribery is further disguised as "Campaign Contributions or Donations", all legal in Utah, since these bottom feeding, unethical and immoral slime control the laws.

The ONLY way out of this Utah Realtor/Developer scheme is to vote all of them out of office at every level of government.

Sat Sep 20, 05:34:00 PM 2008

You and your Property Taxes

We recommend that you go to this web site:

http://sites.google.com/site/utahpropertytax/

Summary:

What is the Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee? The Utah State Legislature knows of the propery tax problem and had the Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee formed in the 2007 legislative session to look into this problem. Senator Wayne Niederhauser and Representative John Dougall Co chair this committee.

Senator Niederhauser and other members of the committee need to hear from you tax payers and how you feel about this issue. They will be making their recomendations soon; so you need to email your district senators, representatives and these committee members as soon as possible. The committee has this summer to hopefully come up with some good recomendations. Contact your repesentatives by sending an email letting them know your thoughts on the future of our property tax system.

For Ogden Valley residents and others in Weber County, contact:

State Senator Allan Christensen (achristensen@utahsenate.org)
Gage Froerer State Representative (gfroerer@utah.gov)

To Contact the Revenue and Taxation Committee leaders:

Wayne Niederhauser (wniederhauser@utahsenate.org)
John Dougall (jdougall@utah.gov)


Remember, Speak up for what you want, or take what you get!

Your VCRD Staff

Property Tax Appeal Deadline Monday

We are short on time, but wanted to highlight a Standard Examiner article reminding us of the Monday deadline for appealing your property taxes.

From the Di Lewis article we read:

The appeals received so far have not been concentrated in any one area, and (Roger) Brunker (Chief Deputy of the Weber County Auditors office) said he has not seen anything like the mass appeals from Huntsville residents last year.

Larry Zini, who lives in Ogden Valley near Huntsville, said taxes are “going up at a startling rate. ... It’s crazy.”

His wife, Sharon Zini, filed an appeal last year after the estimated value of their land nearly doubled. This year, Larry Zini said, the amount he is paying in taxes went up by 27 percent, on top of the 22 percent increase he paid last year.

However, Huntsville town Councilman Richard Sorensen said he does not think the property values rose as drastically this year in Huntsville.

He said there is not “the uproar there was last year” over increased assessment values.

“Last year one of the properties in town went up 800 percent. I think it (the value of properties) went up so much last year we got the ear of the assessor’s office,” he said, adding his own taxes went down $400 from last year.

Click here to read the article in its entirety.


We want to hear from you, Ogden Valley. What happened with your taxes this year?

Did you have a significant increase, decrease or did they stay the same as last years outrageous bump.

Are you willing to fight for alternative taxation during the upcoming legislative session?

Click on the comments link below and let us know.