A Tax to Grind® by Advantax

Fries Approach to Property Tax Appeals and The O.C.

attg.nospam@nospam.advantax.com (advantaxblog) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:00:00 -0500

Just this past month, Orange County, California sent out over 60,000 erroneous tax bills to its residents informing them that their taxes weren’t paid… when in fact they were! To add to this loving relationship between O.C. and its residents, O.C. recently delayed sending out a half-million tax bills due to an over-calculation concerning a water district’s budgeting. I’m thinking Orange County should take a lesson from the history books, especially the Fries Rebellion

The Fries Rebellion sprang from a national property tax created in 1797 by John Adams in order to generate revenue for military forces. Those who remembered the hearth tax of England (a much earlier ill-fated form of property taxation) were infuriated by this new property tax. They became followers of John Fries, who was a leader in protesting the tax.

The first line of defense against the new property tax became stopping the assessors. If there were no assessors there could be no tax. Many assessors were beaten and run out of town (for the record I am NOT an advocate for this type of behavior). In some cases they were held captive and their documents were destroyed.

When John Adams heard of the rebellion he sent forces to capture John Fries. Fries was convicted and sentenced to death, however he was pardoned before the sentence could be carried out and the property tax was repealed.

No one in O.C. is tying up the assessors or destroying their databases (well, not that I’m aware of) but with so many frustrated (and wealthy) residents, the O.C. should research a little more on the Fries Rebellion… Or really any other property tax rebellion…

Weekly Top Posts: 2009-11-01

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Mutual Consent - Colonial Style

attg.nospam@nospam.advantax.com (David LeVan) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:00:00 -0500

Sometimes when two adults care for each other very deeply….. well, you know, there is mutual consent. Mutual consent can apply to many dating situations (did you think I was going somewhere else with this blog?) such as where to go to dinner, what day to go, whose car to drive, who pays the bill…. Need I go on? Mutual consent works well in dating. Mutual consent also works well in the area of property taxes (not generally as fun as dating).

When mutual consent occurs in the administration of property taxes things always seem to go better. Just like governments before them, the early American colonies tried their hand at property tax administration. Property taxes in the early American colonies started with the pilgrims (yes the pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock). Unlike with previous, more oppressive governments, the colonies created a tax system based on mutual consent.

The colonies agreed to a list of laws, including ones that discussed how to assess and collect property taxes. Although the pilgrims divided the land equally, those with land that was deemed more productive paid a higher percentage of the taxes. Everyone had a voice in the process…… So if you didn’t like your taxes there really was no one to blame but yourself.

I wonder when property taxes stopped being about mutual consent…… It could have been around the time I persuaded my first girlfriend to drive us to dinner… to my favorite dining establishment… using her credit card

Cooking Up Property Taxes at Charlie Trotters

attg.nospam@nospam.advantax.com (David LeVan) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:00:00 -0500

Charlie Trotter’s is arguably one of the finest restaurants in Chicago (and the bill you receive at the end of the meal is arguably one of the largest). In an effort to really impress my wife on our anniversary I surprised her with reservations at Charlie Trotters. The big surprise to both of us was that they upgraded us to a table in the kitchen – typically this table has a 6 month waiting period and requires a party of 4. From this strategic vantage point you can watch all the different chefs preparing foods, and, most importantly you are given samples of all that they prepare. It is truly an amazing culinary experience. I had no idea there were so many types of chefs, with such amazing skills, all in one kitchen. From what we experienced, each chef possessed at least one core competency…. bakery, desserts, salads, sauces, etc.

When we think of a core competency we generally think of a fundamental knowledge, ability, or expertise in a specific area. Core competencies for a business can take various forms, including technical know-how, reliable processes, technology integration, close customer relationships, product development, corporate culture and more. Core competencies are particular strengths relative to other organizations in the industry or simply stated your company's core competencies are the things that you do better than your competitors.

Unless a company is in the property tax business, property tax compliance and management will likely not be one of its core competencies. The decision to outsource property tax functions, or any other function for that matter, is impacted largely by the amount of focus a company wants to give to its non-core functions. By outsourcing, a corporation is attempting to shift one of its non-core functions to a third party who has that function as a core competency.

Oddly enough, even if a company is in the property tax business, it may not have a core competency in property taxes. Property taxes might just be another service that they provide. A competence that is central to your business operations but is not exceptional in some way is NOT a core competency - it doesn’t demonstrate a differentiated advantage over your competitors.

So, what’s your core competency? Executive Chef? Sous Chef? Chef de Saucier? Line Chef? Chef de Partie? Pastry Chef? Banquet Chef? .... or maybe Property Tax?