Assessing Info Sept 19 19

How to cut your property taxes in N.J.? Buy a goat. >

It’s a tax break intended for farmers that often makes the headlines when someone seems to be milking the system rather than the cows. The state’s Farmland Assessment program, first enacted more than 50 years ago, was intended to preserve farmland and discourage overdevelopment. But under the program, corporate office parks have received property tax breaks. Landowners who sell firewood have gotten their tax assessments cut. Read more

Mexico begins monitoring Airbnb payment transactions >

Mexico’s government will monitor Airbnb payment accounts, making it harder to conceal income from the tax collector. A new regulation will crack down on tax evaders, said Gabriela Chavarría Román, the vice president of the Merida chapter of the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI). On Sept. 25, PayPal, the tool through which renters made deposits on Airbnb stays, will automatically transfer that income to the host’s bank account instead of allowing a balance to remain. Read more

The dark-store fight continues in Alabama >

The Alabama Department of Revenue is continuing to pay for legal help for Alabama communities in property tax disputes with big-box stores who want to pay less in property taxes under what’s called “dark store theory.” Former state Sen. Phil Williams, now director of policy strategy and general counsel at the Alabama Policy Institute, sponsored multiple pieces of successful legislation to help communities defend companies’ challenges to their tax bills. Read more

IAAO NEWS

+ IAAO, Lincoln Institute conducting AVM use survey >

The IAAO, in partnership with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, is interested in learning whether and how Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) are being used in the assessment process. An AVM is a mathematical model created in a computer that generates an estimate of market value for a property. The survey will seek information on how AVMs are currently used by assessors and provide insight into obstacles or concerns that may result in assessors choosing to not use AVM technology. Your survey response will provide guidance on how to best support both AVM users as well as those considering employing AVMs in the assessor community. Complete Survey

+ Conference continuing education hours now viewable >

Continuing education hours for the 2019 IAAO Annual Conference are now available for members to view online. The total number of hours from the conference are listed on the "View My Certification Transcript" page, located under the "My Account" tab of the website. If you need a Uniform Request for Recertification Credit form to submit to your jurisdiction, it is available online. Download form

+ Conference photos available to view, download >

The annual conference photographer has provided IAAO a link to the 2019 Conference photo gallery and a shortcut link to the photo gallery is below. There is no charge to access or download photos. The site asks for an email address for registration. Visit photo gallery

+ Online Store to be down Sept. 25-30 for accounting software upgrade >

The IAAO Online Store will be down Sept. 25-30 while IAAO moves to new accounting software. Buying products or registering for events will be down during this time. Registrations through paper forms will be accepted during the down time.

+ Register for upcoming Legal Seminar in Arizona >

Registration is open for the 40th Annual Legal Seminar, Dec. 5-6, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix. This two-day seminar will cover recent developments in real property taxation, wind farm improvements and asset appraisal, challenges in the valuation of special purpose properties, litigation strategies for big-box properties, and ethical conundrums for lawyers. Lawyers seeking CLE credit must submit those requests by Oct. 3. Read more

+ GIS conference presentation proposals due Oct. 7 >

The Presentation Call for Proposal deadline for the 2020 GIS/Valuation Technologies Conference is Oct. 7. The 2020 conference for professionals in Property Assessment, Tax Administration, Mapping and Information Technology is scheduled for March 23-26 in Louisville, Kentucky. Read more

+ IAAO online election is Nov. 1-15, check your email >

The IAAO election will take place online Nov. 1-15. Candidates for the IAAO Executive Board are: President-Elect - Greg McHenry, AAS; Vice President – L. Wade Patterson; Region 1 - Dinah L. Kilgore and Deborah Nielsen; Region 2 – William Healey, RES, and Samantha Steele; Region 3 – G. Cecil Jackson, Jr. RES, AAS, Don Long, and David Brian Sanford, CAE. Read more

IAAO Connect Corner

+ Hot Topic: Challenge coins >

Currently IAAO Connect members are discussing if other offices have used Challenge Coins as a way to reward internal staff and community stakeholders who make meaningful contributions to the office's success. Read more

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

+ Former tax assessor, Cajun musician, and radio host Leroy Martin dies at 90 >

Leroy Martin, a longtime Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, assessor, musician and radio host, died Friday at the age of 90. Martin was at the Assessor’s Office for nearly 50 years; he served as deputy tax assessor from 1954 until he was elected to the top post in 1983. When Martin retired in 2001, his son Mike Martin was elected to the post. Read more

+ Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts' property tax assessment appeal sent to state's attorney >

The Cook County Board of Review has referred to the state’s attorney its investigation of Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts’ property tax appeal on his designer home after concluding that Ricketts and his real estate lawyer made “misrepresentations” that lowered tax bills by tens of thousands of dollars. The tax saga began after Ricketts and wife, an anti-tax advocate, bought two houses along a leafy street near Lake Michigan in 2006. They tore down both houses to make way for their new dwelling, which was designed by a noted architect and built by a high-end custom home builder. Read more

+ Mississippi tax assessor investigating gas storage company for under-reporting assets >

Lowndes County, Mississippi, Tax Assessor/Collector Greg Andrews has obtained evidence regarding Caledonia Energy Partners that appears to indicate the company under-reported its assets to the county for as many as 13 years. That, Andrews said, has short-changed the county possibly millions in tax revenue, and he plans to reassess the company this year to determine the true value of its assets for 2020. If the reassessment yields what Andrews believes it will, the company's taxable property value could rise by $56 million or more. Read more

+The average amount people pay in property taxes in every U.S. state >

Homeownership looks different across the U.S., and varying property taxes in each state can be a big part of that. According to new data from WalletHub, property taxes can range from a modest $560 a year in Alabama to a $7,800 per year in New Jersey. Americans can see big differences in their home values, tax rates, and, in turn, the property taxes they pay each year, depending on where they live. Read more