Budget Watch Nevada

Forward this posting to your friends. It should get them fired up!

The property tax bill post card mailer has two parts. The lower portion, which we’ve been examining in the previous two posts, itemizes the distribution of the tax assessment. The upper portion is a bit less clear. It gives you an “Assessed Valuation” for the year, broken up into “Land” and “Building & Improvements.” Since that number likely doesn’t look anything like the actual market value of your house, it may be confusing. But since government-speak legislators wrote the tax laws, it shouldn’t be surprising that it is unclear.

In the upper right corner of the tax bill, it reads, “Tax Cap %: 3%.” No doubt the readers of this political blog know what that means, but for most of the people who are new to town and those who don’t closely follow the news, they may have no idea that it means the INCREASE in the tax from 06/07 to 07/08 was limited by statute to 3%. But since bureaucrats design these forms, they don’t really think (or care) about the common recipient of this document.

Another question that comes to mind when looking at this document is, “If the value of my house actually DECREASED from 2006 to 2007, then why is my property tax HIGHER than it was last year?” Good question. Call your assemblyman and see if he can give you a straight answer.

Now here’s the really sneaky part that these deceitful drones try to slide past us. In the “Summary” section of the bill, they give you three figures. The first is “Taxes as Assessed,” followed by “Less Cap Reduction,” to arrive at “Net Taxes.” They think they’re so tricky!

Instead of just saying “Your taxes went up from X to Y,” they say, in effect, “Your taxes would have been Z, but you only have to pay Y after the REDUCTION.” What a joke! There’s no reduction, it’s an accounting adjustment to comply with law. What a bunch of deceitful, condescending pencil-pushers. I find it disgusting, disingenuous, and shameful. The county Treasurer’s office should be ashamed, and taxpayers should be outraged!