Tax man cometh.. to look at my toolshed..

All,

I had questioned the total evaluation of my residential property. I was told the detached garage (shed) was missed some years ago.

So, today the assessor is to arrive and determine the fairness of the assessment. I kind of wish I had not called, but to have an assessment that has risen greater than 25% in one year is outlandish.

Where does this insanity end? I paid for it when I bought the property, I pay taxes on it, I use it, I maintain it...geesh!

Sorry, for the rant, it may be for naught. I'll just have to see.

D.
 
We have been through that both up and down in my town but it all depends on the mil rate. When everybody's evaluation goes up the mil rate goes down so there isn't much difference out of pocket. It depends on how much money your town needs to meet its budget.
 
Welcome to property ownership in the USSA. Here even our local school board pays some outfit big bucks to spy and be sure we have not added a shed or concreted the driveway (since they get a big portion of the property taxes)
You can file for a reduction in value if you feel wronged, at least in Ohio. I have won far more than I have lost. It's worth your time to check it out.
 

Don't you want the kids in town to get a good education so that as you age they will be living in bigger houses and paying more taxes so that you will pay less? Wouldn't it be nice if it worked that way? When we bought where we live now, I checked the assessment. The amount for buildings looked OK but the land looked high so I went into town to check it off. I found out that it showed the next property which had been split off some 20 years earlier had never been split off on the assessor's records. The previous owner had paid taxes on the next parcel for twenty years, and of course the town was collecting twice for one parcel.
 
Where I live, the city requires you to maintain (mow) the right of way between your property and the street. So you have to take care of property you don't even own!
 
Be glad you don't own farm land then here in MN, and my county ESP.

Taxes - not valuation but taxes - have gone up over 20% a year for 3 years now. As well this kicks some property out of whatever they call it now, used to be homesteading, so those parcels the taxes go up 60%.

Meanwhile the town folk are marveling that their house and lot taxes went down $20 this year, have to re elect those politicians they are doing a good job holding down taxes.....

Grrrr, now you got me stirred up......

Better go split some wood or clean something or bust open a rusty part......

Paul
 
Our property taxation system is left over from the days when they traded a live chicken for a sack of salt. No record of income (barter system), so if you "looked" prosperous, you were taxed accordingly. Nobody has guts enough to try to correct it.
 
The guy that came to my house looked like Ed Norton from the Honeymooners. He got to the basement and was just standing there . I said 'What's the matter" he says " I'm trying to figure out what kind of hot water heater this is." . I said " the hot water heater is over there your looking at an air compressor." The compressor is painted black. Oh boy.
 
Careful this kinda talk will get you poofed !

Now go drink more coolaid and it will all be ok.
 
Does anyone know which state(s) have the lowest taxes for agricultural land? As soon as agricultural land is sold for development, the taxes jump up real high. Probably an old law passed when farming was big in AZ; that will probably change as soon as somebody figures it out.
 
This cant hurt, but....make yourself look poor...You know, shabby clothes, ripped up shoes, Give him a sob story. It might work.. My momma needs an operation, and so on.

Sure is better than looking like you can pay 25% more.
 
Our tax on farm ground is crazy. Each parcel or field is divided a grid and you pay tax on how good the ground is for production in each grid.
 
You now know You never really truly own any real estate at 100%. In my state if You tear a house or barn down, the local government will cause You misery because they think your only purpose is to evade paying property tax! I can say I don't know anybody who hasn't done that!
 
JF, you are correct. A lot of places are trying to go to 'full value assessment' and they end up lowering the mil rate so for most people the taxes end up nearly the same. If a new house or business goes up, in theory that should increase the tax base and current property taxes go down for existing property owners. Hopefully.
 
When government wants money, they come up with all kinds of ways to bring it in. On the government side, they call it "Revenue Enhancement".
 
My question in all that is that in recent years real estate values have plummeted in most areas (for sure in the area I live in), however I certainly have not seen any similar reduction, and in most cases they continue to find ways to increase the taxes. In my area, 75% of my property taxes go to schools. What is very unfair is that property owners pay the school taxes, while those who own no property pay very little in the way of school taxes (and have a high percentage of kids - i.e. those who rent). Seems very unfair, and I still feel a sales tax might be a better solution vs. those of us who own property footing the biggest bill for education. End of rant. Not sure if it is that way everywhere, but I have never let the assessor inside any of my buildings, including my home. They can measure the sq. footage on the outside, but that is as far as they go.
 
D,You left out a couple other points,What they say their soil chart says that type of soil will produce of the highest priced crop plus what that crop is selling for.CORN=8.00,beans =17.50,wheat=7.50.So it is income based too,whether you get them or not,plus we are stuck with these for the next 7 years regardless of what crop prices do.
 
I have a customer here in NY that has 120 acres and a 18 acre lake. He was paying $13k total in land and school tax. That"s almost what my father is paying for 5 acres. Last year the town went to full assessed value. His taxes went up to $35,000 a year.
 
$35,000/year?!?!?!? Holy F#*!. How does a person afford that? Is the average income 120,000+? Taxes here are something like 24xx.xx $35,000. Are you fricken serious!
 
Have some BTO coming down from the counties north of us and paying a big price for pasture and tearing it up to farm. The problem is our county average is less then half of what theirs is. Our taxes are based on what land is selling for in this area. The banker says the BTO have bought everything they need so now are investing in land.
 
Ron
You missed one point. I have been a property owner & a renter. Although not directly, renters pay property/realestate taxes. The owner includes taxes along with purchase price, structure insurance, mortgage insurance, & upkeep in his costs. Then he adds what he thinks is a reasonable profit to arrive at the monthly/yearly rent.
When I was a renter, almost every year there would be a notice "Due to increase in property taxes, beginning with Jan of next year, rent will increase $20.00 per month".
Willie
 
That don't always work Willie,there have been some court cases filed and the land owner was fined for tried to sway a election or vote.
 
How big is that shed? Is it on a slab or foundation? If you can put a floor in it and put it on 4x6 skids in most places "movable sheds" are not taxable.
 
I"m a Minnesota resident---and if your property taxes have risen the amount you say they have, then your eligible for a refund. It"s Minnesota form MP-1 (as I remember) Your tax professional will know about. The essence of it is---if your property taxes go up more than 15% in one year (I may have the percentage wrong) and/or if your property taxes exceed a certain percentage of your income then you"re eligible to file. Hope this helps.
 
It won't end until the people take up arms against the government. That is what the second amendment to the constitution is really all about.

If you want to truly own property you will need to be willing to lose everything (including the property) to gain it.
 
Patrick, I am a Minnesota resident also, I have a 1/4 section in Millacs County of woods and swamp. Before land values skyrocketed I was paying around a thousand. In 2006 and or 2007 I was paying over double that. Now that land prices have came down I am paying $2500.00. That doesn"t even make sense. My theory is if you paid that high amount once you can afford to pay it again.

I was at the assessors office once and heard a couple of county staff personal talking about how much rum river frontage property they had and how much they could gouge the property owners for taxes.

If you apply for the job of assessor in Minnesota a physical is required. If it is found you have a heart and conscience you will not be hired.
 
Everyone loves to complain about land, school and property taxes. How many of you complaining have done anything about it? How many of you are running for elected office so you can help hold things in check instead of letting the progressive activists keep robbing us so they can spend our money? I did it, I'm in it up to my ears now and until you're int here you won't believe what it's like fighting it.

"All that is required for evil to succeed is for good men to stand by and do nothing."
 
Bret, I commend you for being civic minded, but I respectfully suggest that you aren't changing anything, you're only re-arranging things. Until they change the METHOD of real estate taxation, then nothing is actually "changed". The real estate tax is now based upon someone's IDEA of your property value. As many of these other posters have pointed out, the IDEAS lag behind the "facts". Real estate taxes should be based solely on a flat rate of your income, and nothing else. No exceptions for anyone. Exceptions are part of the present problem. That would eliminate the need for a Board of Review. In my area, you can hop across the county line and see a marked reduction in real estate taxes. My real estate taxes would actually go UP if they based them upon my income, not that I make that much money, but because I don't own any extravagant real estate. The present system is not fair taxation.
 
You make a valid point, however the fact still remains that those who own larger pieces of property pay the majority of the bill for schools (at least here in MO). Case in point - a landowner that has no children at home, and that has a couple hundred acres, a 3,000 sq foot home, shop, barn, etc will have a fairly large tax bill (mostly school taxes) vs. the young couple that has 3 kids and rents only pays whatever the landlord passes along by way of rent, even though (in my opionion) the couple with 3 kids should pay more school taxes. Very one sided, and in many cases those with the acreage and home are likely my age with the kids that are still renting. Not always the case, however I still say there are much more ways to more evenly spread this tax burden out. I also know this will never happen. Several years back a small town I used to live in ran a proposal to completely get rid of property taxes, and replace it with a sales tax. I voted for this, and still believe it was the best solution as it spread the bill to everyone who did business in the community. I no longer live there, but believe this is still in place, although it is likely just a matter of time until someone gets greedy, and not only leaves the sales tax in place, but also imposes another property tax.
 
Actually I did run for an elected office once several years ago (lost by about 35 votes). I did get a taste of what it is like fighting it shortly after publishing a short summary on my views (at the request of the local newspaper). I am very aware that if I would have won I would have been in for a battle, and most likely under a microscope. One person that did win with a similar viewpoint got disqualified from the election due to his not paying for a dog license. Obviously his views did not agree with the regime at the time.
 
I successfully protest my residential taxes every year. If you don't they arbitrarily raise them. Here in TX they can only raise your taxes by 10% per year on your homestead only. Anything else grab your azz, they can raise it as much as they want. If it's commercial just bend over, they really punish you. Very difficult to protest and win. Our county calls everything "commercial" except your homestead exempted residence.

Our county is growing rapidly and adding lots of new construction to the tax base. Lots more revenue as I see it. What I don't understand is how they can justify raising the tax rate. They're trying hard but so far haven't gotten it done yet. Just doesn't seem right.
 
Hi Dean,
I live in TX, too. Instead of going thru the formal protest, which I tried for several years with mixed results, I go in every year and sit down with the appraiser to find out why my bill went up...it always does go up. I have been able to persuade the appraiser to make adjustments that will allow my bill to stay the same as the year before, except for the year before last. My local school board decided to raise its rate after the estimates had been sent out. Anyway, the appraiser has been much easier to work with than the appraisal review board.
Butch
 
Apparently some folks are missing the point. The reason your taxes are going up is because gov't keeps spending more and more and more. Unless you have people on the various boards, etc. who look for ways to save or have the backbone to simply say "NO!" to every wild scheme that comes along then you are going to see your rates rise every year. We cannot continue to grow gov't while the private sector shrinks. Every new sports purchase, every new building project, every new computer, every repair needed because of careless employees, every abuse at every level makes the costs rise. If all you're doing is complaining, how is that helping?

I would agree that a flat tax on income and a sales tax with no exceptions would be far more "fair" across the board. But until we rein in spending and the expectation that someone else will pay for everything from se x changes and college education for convicts to rebuilding New Orleans every time it floods to supporting 25-30% of our population for their entire lives then nothing will change.
 
(quoted from post at 03:55:25 03/25/14) Patrick, I am a Minnesota resident also,[b:f2fdf876d9] I have a 1/4 section [/b:f2fdf876d9]in Millacs County of woods and swamp.[b:f2fdf876d9] Before land values skyrocketed I was paying around a thousand[/b:f2fdf876d9]. In 2006 and or 2007 I was paying over double that. Now that land prices have came down[b:f2fdf876d9] I am paying $2500.00. [/b:f2fdf876d9]That doesn"t even make sense. My theory is if you paid that high amount once you can afford to pay it again.

I was at the assessors office once and heard a couple of county staff personal talking about how much rum river frontage property they had and how much they could gouge the property owners for taxes.

If you apply for the job of assessor in Minnesota a physical is required. If it is found you have a heart and conscience you will not be hired.

And than they say America,..land of the free!!!! :shock

Heck, my property taxes are only $1200 on my entire eleven 1/4's ranch!....It's actually $300 less than i paid 21 years ago.:
 
Brett,

You've hit a lot of targets! I do not support a significant items that you'd mentioned.

I do believe in prisons/jails/confinement for those who do not wish to behave.

I do not want to mis direct this rant but I'd rather support those that fend for their own.

D.
 
I agree with you about getting involved. However the State of NY. mandates something over 85% of the school budget. Over 50% of county budgets are for medical/welfare costs. Retirement funds take another large chunk. None of which is negotible. Takes 60 votes to get something passed in our state assembly. NY City area controls 70 votes. Doesn't matter how much we get involed up here. We can change nothing.
 
(quoted from post at 04:28:32 03/26/14) Apparently some folks are missing the point. The reason your taxes are going up is because gov't keeps spending more and more and more. Unless you have people on the various boards, etc. who look for ways to save or have the backbone to simply say "NO!" to every wild scheme that comes along then you are going to see your rates rise every year. We cannot continue to grow gov't while the private sector shrinks. Every new sports purchase, every new building project, every new computer, every repair needed because of careless employees, every abuse at every level makes the costs rise. If all you're doing is complaining, how is that helping?

I would agree that a flat tax on income and a sales tax with no exceptions would be far more "fair" across the board. But until we rein in spending and the expectation that someone else will pay for everything from se x changes and college education for convicts to rebuilding New Orleans every time it floods to supporting 25-30% of our population for their entire lives then nothing will change.

Brett you hit the nail right on the head. Gov't is too often competing with the private sector so commerce that would pay tax money goes away to the gov't. and at the same time retirement burden is increasing for future generations. I was on my town's select board for nine years and I became known for quoting Ben Franklin "If you watch the pennies the dollars take care of themselves". It is difficult but if you don't it just keeps running away. If everyone lets somebody else watch the store nobody watches it. Cowboy up guys!
 
(quoted from post at 08:56:32 03/27/14)
(quoted from post at 03:55:25 03/25/14) Patrick, I am a Minnesota resident also,[b:c937bc588d] I have a 1/4 section [/b:c937bc588d]in Millacs County of woods and swamp.[b:c937bc588d] Before land values skyrocketed I was paying around a thousand[/b:c937bc588d]. In 2006 and or 2007 I was paying over double that. Now that land prices have came down[b:c937bc588d] I am paying $2500.00. [/b:c937bc588d]That doesn"t even make sense. My theory is if you paid that high amount once you can afford to pay it again.

I was at the assessors office once and heard a couple of county staff personal talking about how much rum river frontage property they had and how much they could gouge the property owners for taxes.

If you apply for the job of assessor in Minnesota a physical is required. If it is found you have a heart and conscience you will not be hired.

And than they say America,..land of the free!!!! :shock

Heck, my property taxes are only $1200 on my entire eleven 1/4's ranch!....It's actually $300 less than i paid 21 years ago.:

Wait a minute, lets look at the bigger picture. Half my neighbors are transplanted Canucks and I'm only 75 miles from Ottawa. What are your GST and PST? What are your income tax rates? What other taxes are built into every item you buy? I'm glad your land taxes are relatively low, but lets not try to make it out that Canadian taxes are actually any lower than US. You can't have a socialist gov't and low taxes. Nothing against Canada, I admire your current PM and his fiscal responsibility, but your taxes are at least as high overall as in the US...which also has a socialist gov't these days.
 
(quoted from post at 17:40:10 03/27/14) I agree with you about getting involved. However the State of NY. mandates something over 85% of the school budget. Over 50% of county budgets are for medical/welfare costs. Retirement funds take another large chunk. None of which is negotible. Takes 60 votes to get something passed in our state assembly. NY City area controls 70 votes. Doesn't matter how much we get involed up here. We can change nothing.

Don you bring up the problem that I believe will only be remedied when we get enough good people in office to band together and say "NO!". I'm pushing for the Northern and rural counties to get together and to form a block that can fight the mandates. That's the only answer I see. What we have now is 62 counties fighting each other and the State. If, say, 25 or 30 or 35 of those counties band together and fight Albany and NYC then we can do something. Even if 10 or 12 made the effort things could change. You said it- we're fighting NYC, LI and the lower counties which form up the bedroom communities for NYC and Albany. That's where the money and population is. They have no clue what life is like in St Lawrence, Hamilton or Franklin County. The concept of having to drive 2 hours to get to a Walmart, hosptial or DMV is outside their realm of understanding. Having to have a bus make a 75 mile round trip to pick kids up just isn't realistic for them. Having a central school covering an area 3x larger than their entire county and having under 100 kids in it isn't plausible to them. An entire Township covering over 60 sq miles with only 1200 parcels to tax just isn't real for them. A seasonal UE rate of 30% doesn't happen where they live. The only way we can fight Albany is to join together. It's not going to happen over night. Mandates can be done away with, they aren't something written in stone. But no one tries. That's the problem.

The other problem is that there are entrenched libs and bureaucrats that are fighting to spend more every day. Again, only when people who believe in fiscal responsibilty get in office will we be able to fight that.
 
(quoted from post at 04:28:41 03/28/14)
(quoted from post at 08:56:32 03/27/14)
(quoted from post at 03:55:25 03/25/14) Patrick, I am a Minnesota resident also,[b:b636d7c0e9] I have a 1/4 section [/b:b636d7c0e9]in Millacs County of woods and swamp.[b:b636d7c0e9] Before land values skyrocketed I was paying around a thousand[/b:b636d7c0e9]. In 2006 and or 2007 I was paying over double that. Now that land prices have came down[b:b636d7c0e9] I am paying $2500.00. [/b:b636d7c0e9]That doesn"t even make sense. My theory is if you paid that high amount once you can afford to pay it again.

I was at the assessors office once and heard a couple of county staff personal talking about how much rum river frontage property they had and how much they could gouge the property owners for taxes.

If you apply for the job of assessor in Minnesota a physical is required. If it is found you have a heart and conscience you will not be hired.

And than they say America,..land of the free!!!! :shock

Heck, my property taxes are only $1200 on my entire eleven 1/4's ranch!....It's actually $300 less than i paid 21 years ago.:

Wait a minute, lets look at the bigger picture. Half my neighbors are transplanted Canucks and I'm only 75 miles from Ottawa. What are your GST and PST? What are your income tax rates? What other taxes are built into every item you buy? I'm glad your land taxes are relatively low, but lets not try to make it out that Canadian taxes are actually any lower than US. You can't have a socialist gov't and low taxes. Nothing against Canada, I admire your current PM and his fiscal responsibility, but your taxes are at least as high overall as in the US...which also has a socialist gov't these days.
y province Alberta has a 10% income tax rate and 0 % pst. only the 5% federal GST.;)
As a farmer i can legally drive province wide on-road on off-road diesel.;)
Only tax charged by the County is the mentioned Property tax.

Ontario is a shyte hole,..i would not want to be found dead there :shock:
 
(quoted from post at 08:51:46 03/28/14)
(quoted from post at 04:28:41 03/28/14)
(quoted from post at 08:56:32 03/27/14)
(quoted from post at 03:55:25 03/25/14) Patrick, I am a Minnesota resident also,[b:d6db578c29] I have a 1/4 section [/b:d6db578c29]in Millacs County of woods and swamp.[b:d6db578c29] Before land values skyrocketed I was paying around a thousand[/b:d6db578c29]. In 2006 and or 2007 I was paying over double that. Now that land prices have came down[b:d6db578c29] I am paying $2500.00. [/b:d6db578c29]That doesn"t even make sense. My theory is if you paid that high amount once you can afford to pay it again.

I was at the assessors office once and heard a couple of county staff personal talking about how much rum river frontage property they had and how much they could gouge the property owners for taxes.

If you apply for the job of assessor in Minnesota a physical is required. If it is found you have a heart and conscience you will not be hired.

And than they say America,..land of the free!!!! :shock

Heck, my property taxes are only $1200 on my entire eleven 1/4's ranch!....It's actually $300 less than i paid 21 years ago.:

Wait a minute, lets look at the bigger picture. Half my neighbors are transplanted Canucks and I'm only 75 miles from Ottawa. What are your GST and PST? What are your income tax rates? What other taxes are built into every item you buy? I'm glad your land taxes are relatively low, but lets not try to make it out that Canadian taxes are actually any lower than US. You can't have a socialist gov't and low taxes. Nothing against Canada, I admire your current PM and his fiscal responsibility, but your taxes are at least as high overall as in the US...which also has a socialist gov't these days.
y province Alberta has a 10% income tax rate and 0 % pst. only the 5% federal GST.;)
As a farmer i can legally drive province wide on-road on off-road diesel.;)
Only tax charged by the County is the mentioned Property tax.

Ontario is a shyte hole,..i would not want to be found dead there :shock:

Alaska and several other States have no state income tax, very low sales tax and low property taxes. You referenced the whole of the USA, I'm referencing the whole of Canada, and lets face it, Ont, Que and BC make up the majority of your population.
 
(quoted from post at 09:24:59 03/28/14)
(quoted from post at 08:51:46 03/28/14)
(quoted from post at 04:28:41 03/28/14)
(quoted from post at 08:56:32 03/27/14)
(quoted from post at 03:55:25 03/25/14) Patrick, I am a Minnesota resident also,[b:57219547ad] I have a 1/4 section [/b:57219547ad]in Millacs County of woods and swamp.[b:57219547ad] Before land values skyrocketed I was paying around a thousand[/b:57219547ad]. In 2006 and or 2007 I was paying over double that. Now that land prices have came down[b:57219547ad] I am paying $2500.00. [/b:57219547ad]That doesn"t even make sense. My theory is if you paid that high amount once you can afford to pay it again.

I was at the assessors office once and heard a couple of county staff personal talking about how much rum river frontage property they had and how much they could gouge the property owners for taxes.

If you apply for the job of assessor in Minnesota a physical is required. If it is found you have a heart and conscience you will not be hired.

And than they say America,..land of the free!!!! :shock

Heck, my property taxes are only $1200 on my entire eleven 1/4's ranch!....It's actually $300 less than i paid 21 years ago.:

Wait a minute, lets look at the bigger picture. Half my neighbors are transplanted Canucks and I'm only 75 miles from Ottawa. What are your GST and PST? What are your income tax rates? What other taxes are built into every item you buy? I'm glad your land taxes are relatively low, but lets not try to make it out that Canadian taxes are actually any lower than US. You can't have a socialist gov't and low taxes. Nothing against Canada, I admire your current PM and his fiscal responsibility, but your taxes are at least as high overall as in the US...which also has a socialist gov't these days.
y province Alberta has a 10% income tax rate and 0 % pst. only the 5% federal GST.;)
As a farmer i can legally drive province wide on-road on off-road diesel.;)
Only tax charged by the County is the mentioned Property tax.

Ontario is a shyte hole,..i would not want to be found dead there :shock:

Alaska and several other States have no state income tax, very low sales tax and low property taxes. You referenced the whole of the USA, I'm referencing the whole of Canada, and lets face it, Ont, Que and BC make up the majority of your population.
K you win ;),....... but i doubt you can win on the property taxes.
We don't get taxed on tractors and equipment or what have you either.
Our vehicle plates are $75 a year,..tractors have no plate, trailer plates are for life at a one time fee of $50.

i don't mind living in a low population province,....nice and quiet :lol:
 
I'm not trying to "win", I just want to compare apples to apples. I've often heard it said on CBC that Alberta would be pretty happy becoming the 51st State. Sounds like you're doing fine as you are, at least until it comes to guns.
 
(quoted from post at 05:16:03 03/29/14) I'm not trying to "win", I just want to compare apples to apples. I've often heard it said on CBC that [b:a94653bc2f]Alberta would be pretty happy becoming the 51st State.[/b:a94653bc2f] Sounds like you're doing fine as you are, [b:a94653bc2f]at least until it comes to guns.[/b:a94653bc2f]
aybe before the Bunger took office, but the US ain't looking to rosy right now for a groups hug IMO.


No problem getting guns here, i Have plenty of them,..just no hand guns.
I can get them as well if i would need it for safety when working alone in the bush.

It appears lots of people in the US won't mind if your guns were going to join the dodo bird :wink:
 
With luck much of this can be turned around in a few years.

Never understood the no handguns thing in Canada. Every shooting in Canada you hear of is with a handgun, yet the people seem to think the ban is working? Got me. But then, I never understood why you have all the signs in English and French across the whole country, or so it seems, but Que. hasn't a sign in English in sight!
 
Bret, Every country and Nation has their peculiarities.
We have 2 official languages :roll:, apparently your Country has no official language although English is the one most used.
 
Funny aboot that, eh? Being on the Ont/Que border I got so I could figure out what the Frenchies were saying most of the time. Funny how many could suddenly speak much better english when they were being put out of service!

I think the new official language in the US is going to be binary code.
 

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