A Tax to Grind® by Advantax

Weekly Top Posts: 2012-04-22

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 04:00:01 GMT

Pour Me a Guinness and Let's Talk Property Tax

attg.nospam@nospam.advantax.com (David LeVan) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:00:00 -0400

Why does Guinness beer taste so much better in Ireland than anywhere else in the world? I spent a few days in Dublin several years ago and had the opportunity to tour the Guinness Brewery. At the end of the tour we were treated to some freshly brewed Guinness. It was really good! In fact, during the ensuing days I was able to have a couple more Guinness beers, as well as good food, in some nice pubs in and around Dublin. What a wonderful way to relax and have a conversation.

In case you haven't heard, Ireland is in a revolt! Unlike many of the other revolts from the history of Ireland, this one is a property tax revolt. According to the New York Times, about fifty percent of Irelands (1.6 million homeowners) failed to pay their $133 property tax bill due March 31st. Protesters came from all corners of Ireland to protest in Dublin and they are simply refusing to pay any sort of property tax.

On January 1, 2012 Ireland introduced the new property tax as part of its austerity program to comply with demands from the European Union. The idea behind the program is to have a flat property tax for 2012 and develop a more comprehensive property tax for subsequent years. The government believes it has no choice but to implement the property tax. At least half of its citizens don't agree.

The government is considering fines, penalties, contempt of court charges and whatever else they have to do to motivate the delinquent taxpayers. But the taxpayers are holding strong. With almost 12,000 pubs in Ireland, they ought to be able to get together and have a conversation. Perhaps over a Guinness.

Weekly Top Posts: 2012-04-15

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 04:00:01 GMT

Pete the Property Tax Parasite

attg.nospam@nospam.advantax.com (David LeVan) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:00:00 -0400

I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Dominican Republic with a couple of colleagues from Advantax at the beginning of this month. We went with a larger team to bring computers and school supplies to Students International and work in their mentoring and sports programs for the week (you can see pictures http://on.fb.me/Iz9W8V if you’re interested). It was a very fulfilling and impactful trip!

The only downside was that I caught some kind of parasite while there. I’ll spare you the gruesome details but it was impactful in a different way. The parasite became such a part of my life that I decided to name him Pete. After a week and a strong antibiotic, I believe that Pete is now departed from me. And, there’s an upside to my relationship with Pete. He cleaned me out. I’m 8lbs lighter, my digestive system is unclogged, and I feel great. I’ll bet I can even run faster.

The Marion County (IN) Assessor’s Office currently has almost 30,000 active appeals. Over half were appealed prior to 2008! Some taxpayers have been waiting for years to have their appeal processed while the government has held on to their money. The Assessor acknowledges the clog and empathizes with the taxpayers, according to an interview, but doesn’t seem to have an answer. Is it possible that Pete the Parasite could be the solution to cleaning out their system? Heck, maybe they’ll even run faster.

Weekly Top Posts: 2012-04-08

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 04:00:01 GMT

The Grand Canyon of Property Tax

attg.nospam@nospam.advantax.com (David LeVan) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 23:00:00 -0400

Have you ever seen the Grand Canyon from an airplane? At 277 miles long and up to 18 miles wide, it is truly spectacular! The North Rim of the canyon is generally accessible from Las Vegas and the South Rim from Phoenix or Flagstaff. Hiking from one rim to the other is discouraged by park officials because of the distance, steepness, rocky trails, elevation changes, and potential heat exhaustion. Even though rescues are often required for unsuccessful rim-to-rim travelers, hundreds of physically fit hikers complete the trip every year. For those who are in exceptional shape, there is even a 78 mile ultra-marathon through the canyon.

In the property tax industry, we have our own Grand Canyon. It plays out like this…..Property tax departments are on the South Rim of the canyon. The executives of their organizations are on the North Rim. Property tax departments have complained for years that upper management doesn’t understand property taxes and have made very few attempts to hike to the South Rim. In fact, evidence shows that most executives have a very limited knowledge of property taxes. CFO magazine states that property tax is the “least understood tax” by CFOs.

But what is going on with the South Rim? How many times have you tried to cr over to the North Rim? In our PropTax Assessment, we found that only 50% of property tax departments were providing upper management with ”easy to understand, insightful property tax reports” on a regular basis. Only 50%! Property tax departments often complain of lacking resources to adequately do the job they have been charged with doing. Those with the capabilities of authorizing resources are on the North Rim. If they aren’t learning about the impact that your department is providing to the organization from you, they probably aren’t learning about it.

Maybe it’s time to get in shape and hike to the North Rim. If you have already hiked the canyon a few times, maybe you should take it up a notch and sign up for the ultra-marathon.

A Tax to Grind® by Advantax

Weekly Top Posts: 2012-04-22

Pour Me a Guinness and Let's Talk Property Tax

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Weekly Top Posts: 2012-04-15

Pete the Property Tax Parasite

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Weekly Top Posts: 2012-04-08

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