Haws Consulting Group -

Former state legislators Sharron Angle and Don Gustavson are trying to collect enough signatures to put a California Proposition 13 type measure on the November 2008 ballot. If you are interested and live in Nevada or have a property tax liability in Nevada and want to see a measure like this go forward, signature collection has been approved as of February 22nd.

This from the Tahoe Daily Tribune…

This is the third version of the petition the group has filed with the Secretary of State’s office this year. The others were pulled because of errors and challenges by the AFL-CIO to their constitutionality. In addition, the two have tried twice before to get the issue on the Nevada ballot as well as trying in at least three sessions to get the proposed question through the Nevada Legislature.

Angle said the group has made every effort to satisfy the complaints by the union and make changes to the proposed constitutional amendment.

Gustavson said the issue now is that they have less than three months to collect the nearly 60,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot. The deadline is May 20 to submit signatures.

The following analysis is per COST -

Indiana: Gov. Daniels’ (R) property tax reform (see Legislative Alert 07-41) is gaining steam in the Legislature. The House passed HB 1001 Jan. 24 by a 93-1 vote, considered unprecedented for a property tax restructuring measure. As passed, the legislation would cap property tax bills at 1% of assessed value for residential homeowners, at 2% for landlords and 3% for businesses beginning in 2009. The cap would partially be funded by a 1-percentage point increase in the sales tax from 5% to 6%.

On the other side of the capitol, the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy voted unanimously (10-0) on Jan. 22 on a similar proposal, SB 12, which imposes different caps. The proposal, as drafted, would cap property tax bills for residential homeowners at 2% for this year, at 1.5% for 2009 and 1% for 2010. Landlords/renters would experience a 3% cap for this year, 2.5% for 2009 and 2% for 2010. Finally, businesses wouldn’t experience any property tax relief until 2010 with property tax bills capped at 3%.

It is expected the Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled House will negotiate their different proposals in the upcoming weeks. If the plan passes, it will mark the first time in Indiana’s history that property values would hinge on ownership, ultimately resulting in a significant shift of the tax burden to the business community.

One bill that has been introduced (House bill 1001) would replace elected county assessors with county assessors appointed by the county fiscal body. Eliminates township assessors.

Another idea on the table is to replace or reform the property tax system all together. Regardless it looks like the lawmakers are looking at big changes.

If you purchased a property last year (2007) or you had new construction in California in 2007, it’s possible you will receive a “Notice of Supplemental Assessment” or a “Notice of Proposed Escape Assessment.” from the Assessor from the county where the property is located.

If you feel the value is incorrect, property owners who receive either a ‘Notice of Supplemental Assessment’ or a ‘Notice of Proposed Escape Assessment’ can appeal the values within 60 days of the issuance of the notice. Remember, you will loose your right to appeal if you do not file a formal appeal within the 60 days of the date on the notice with your local Assessor.

If you have any questions, please give us a call.

The 2008 property tax calendar is now available for downloading on our website. Go to the download section and click on the PDF files and you should see the 2008 calendar there.

There were a whole bunch of changes this year so download this file and don’t rely on the old 2007 file after 12/31.

Happy filings.

We have revamped our blogging tools and have just launched our new blog software for ptax.com. This will be the place you can keep up with what’s happening in the world of property taxes. Come back as often as you like to find out what is new and the changing laws that may affect your property tax liabilities.

Feel free to leave us comments ans well. We will do our best to respond to as many as we can.

Thank you,

Haws Consulting Group