Inside This Issue:

Florida Appraisers Vow to Track Down Sales Prices

Appraisers are pulling out all the stops to collect
additional property tax revenues in Florida. They are
proactively targeting large unrecorded sales prices so
the full market value can be taxed.

Some counties have even formed a special investigation
unit to get detailed information on corporate real estate
sales and transfers.

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Indiana Approves Tax Swap

The Indiana General Assembly is swapping higher sales taxes for lower property taxes. This month, the sales tax rate increased from 6% to 7%. Meanwhile, property tax caps will be phased in for all taxpayers starting in 2009.

But the tax caps will not benefit all taxpayers equally.

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North Carolina May Require More
Frequent Revals

Legislation to standardize revaluations statewide is being debated by North Carolina lawmakers. Even before new legislation is passed, some counties are proposing shortening their revaluation schedules.

There’s a downside for both counties and taxpayers. Revaluing property more often is much more costly, and taxpayers can face higher assessments sooner than they would under a long-term reval schedule.

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Texas Appeals Must Consider
Combined Values

A lawsuit filed by a taxpayer who protested only the
land value of his assessment is going all the way to
the Texas Supreme Court.

The Court of Appeals ruled that the total improved property value, which includes both the land and improvement components, is the only value that taxpayers can legally appeal.

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Virginia Raises Taxes to Fund Transportation

Landmark legislation passed last year allows local governments in Northern Virginia to impose higher
tax rates on commercial real estate to fund regional
transit upgrades.

Arlington and Fairfax Counties have already included tax increases in their 2009 advertised budgets.

April 2008

Fulton County, GA - Assessments Skyrocket

A major revaluation of Fulton County (Atlanta) properties is driving assessments up dramatically. Assessors say 87% of all owners will be hit with a higher tax bill.

Increases Across-the-Board

Fulton has revalued select parcels every year, but this is the first sweeping revaluation conducted in 15 years. Appraisers physically inspected all 24,000 commercial properties.

The median value hike is 44%, which means half the owners will be hit with larger increases.

Preliminary figures show:

• Offices up 63%
• Industrial up 58%
• Retail up 49%
• Hotels up 38%
• Apartments up 30%

Officials admit if major revaluations had been done more often, businesses wouldn’t be facing such large percentage increases this year.

Prepare for Appeals –
Notices in mail April 11

The current commercial market is down sharply from the past few years and therefore, values may be artificially high.

Appraisers plan to mail the new valuation notices April 11. Officials spent the last 18 months preparing for an onslaught of appeals and realize it will be a major test for the department.

Be on the lookout for your notices and respond immediately since there is only a 45-day window to challenge the assessment.

High-impact, time sensitive or urgent tax issues you will want to know about immediately!

·  New critical legislation
·  Appeal deadline changes
·  Tax compliance rule changes
·  Court rulings directly affecting
    your tax values

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