Protest it. You have nothing to lose. Forms are available online or at the courthouse.
I had a rental property in OKC some years back. I protested the tax increase one year.
Didn't do any good. I just wasted a morning going down town.
The answer is to vote on bonds. Every single time.
In Guthrie school district, the School Board just kept putting the bonds up for a vote, time after time. The finally got an election date with just the bond on the ballet, in the middle of March. Nobody voted, with the exception of Myself and the wife, and the entire school district employee list.
It passed....
Didn't do any good. I just wasted a morning going down town.
The answer is to vote on bonds. Every single time.
In Guthrie school district, the School Board just kept putting the bonds up for a vote, time after time. The finally got an election date with just the bond on the ballet, in the middle of March. Nobody voted, with the exception of Myself and the wife, and the entire school district employee list.
It passed....
They're going to see my big fat white backside at the Courthouse Tuesday morning...we'll see what happens.
Tnx for the info guys.
Tnx for the info guys.
If the assessors website has online records it would pay to use the neighbors tax information as a comparable. If no online info at the assessors site you can often find property tax history on Zillow.
I've called to fuss about the increases here for three years. I was reminded again to notice the assessed value. I told the treasurer I would sell the land for 25% less per acre than her assessment. Then she could turn the property for a quick profit. She said she wouldn't do it because she didn't want to take the chance on having her money tied for a long time. Really! WTF. I guess the assessment is a bit high huh?
Let's say the rate they charge is $100 per $1000 of evaluation. So the house is valued at $100,000. The assessment comes at 10% or
$10,000. So the tax bill is $1000. Even if they knock off $5000 on the $100,000 and you get $95,000 you only save $50 off your tax
bill. So final tax bill is $950. If your protest is successfull, which I doubt it will be, you save a whopping $50 bucks! This whole
ad valorem is just another tax racket cooked up by the politicians. They raise the rate every now and then and most people don't
even notice or care and the tax just keeps going up to finance their pet projects.
$10,000. So the tax bill is $1000. Even if they knock off $5000 on the $100,000 and you get $95,000 you only save $50 off your tax
bill. So final tax bill is $950. If your protest is successfull, which I doubt it will be, you save a whopping $50 bucks! This whole
ad valorem is just another tax racket cooked up by the politicians. They raise the rate every now and then and most people don't
even notice or care and the tax just keeps going up to finance their pet projects.
Perfect reason to protest and not get a raise.
I've protested three times, lost two, won one.
Came home once, and had the county tax assessor field guy walking around my house measuring the outside dimensions, and as not knowing who the fawk he was asked him what he was doing.
Measuring the square footage of the house and outbuildings is what he was doing. I asked how he could come on my property without permission as there are 5 no trespassing signs coming up the hill that he overlooked.
Said he didn't need permission. He was the county assessor. ???????????
I understand some counties are using drones now to avoid trespass.
Great way to get shot in some places... not saying it is legal to shoot the taxman (although it might be tempting), but definitely in some areas you don't just show up with a tape measure and camera unless you got some serious backup with ya.
