WE CAN FIGHT "CITY HALL"

THE WAY WE SET PROPERTY TAXES HAS TO CHANGE

I, like many of you, have had my property reassessed this year and am horrified at the new tax assessment. For me, the tax is now as much as my mortgage. The new assessment is a 316% increase from the previous one.

I started by meeting with the man who assessed my place and here’s what I learned.

Problem 1: Until 1970 in Washington, property tax was based on 25% of market value. From ’70-’74 the legislature taxed at 50%. Then, like sharks having whiffed blood, it got popped up to 100%. This amount is set every 4 years regardless of the market fluctuations.

Problem 2: I was met with an attitude of, “What can I do? A buyer near you paid a lot for their property so your tax went up.” Interesting that when a buyer pays more than what it is worth in the going market, it’s the government’s chance to raid everyone’s wallet.

Problem 3: It was explained to me that all that was considered is the running foot of lakefront. If my property were 1 foot wide and 100 feet long, the tax would be the same.

Problem 4: “Highest and Best Use” is another phrase that works to raise taxes. The man in the assessor’s office said that if a personal home is sandwiched between two resorts then it will be taxed as a resort. (In this example, given the size of the property, there may be no use beyond how it is being used.) But what that means is that the tax assessor can think about what you “could” do with your property and tax you as though you had done that very thing. Based on that, the local assessor has tremendous discretion about your tax assessment. As it stands now, the government’s goal is to develop all property for the highest taxable return.

Problem 5: We in Chelan County have seen lots of “new money” coming into our recreation areas and killing off property opportunities for locals. Why is that? It’s because the new people buying here are coming from a higher income level area.

Problem 6: The burdened tax payer has really felt the impact as property prices have surged…mortgage defaults not only result from bad banking laws that allowed people to get in over their heads, it’s also new tax burdens. Higher taxes reduce the pool of potential buyers making it harder to sell. These higher rates actually de-value your property.

Clearly I’m upset enough about this to work on change. If you are too, let’s talk. I’ve opened an email at chelantaxpayers@gmail.com . If we are serious, we have to be the people Americans have always been and do this ourselves.

Courtney Cox
Chelan, WA