The Property Tax Quandary
Today’s guest speaker was Terry Ennes of Ennes & Associates, Inc. Terry is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the firm and is directly involved in all of the firm’s major assignments.
His topic today was on ‘The Property Tax Quandary’. Terry stated up front that he was in favor of property taxes, because they are a fair way to assess, equally, the responsibility of financing community services. His message focused, not on the taxes themselves, but on what we can do as individuals to make sure that our property is not over-assessed.
Property taxes have bad points and good points. On the bad side, they are normally collected twice a year, so the amount we see each time is rather large. In addition, the tax rate used to calculate the taxes is tied to the local government’s budget, with little or no control given to the taxpayer. On the good side, the taxes are collected and spent locally and they are computed based on the value of each individual property. So, the taxpayer’s contribution to the overall tax base is generally considered as being fair.
There are some things that each person should do to make sure they are not being over-assessed. Terry recommends checking with the assessor’s office to verify the amount at which your property is accessed. Compare that to the market value of your property, which can be accomplished through a local real estate office. Finally, compare the square-foot assessment of your property to comparable properties in your subdivision. This information can be found on your assessor’s website.
To learn more about the ‘Property Tax Quandary’ and what you can do about it, visit Terry’s website at www.Ennestax.com.