A Tax to Grind® by Advantax

Weekly Top Posts: 2012-02-12

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 05:00:01 GMT

Iceland isn’t Horsing Around with Its Property Taxes

attg.nospam@nospam.advantax.com (David LeVan) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:00:00 -0500

Straight from the horse’s mouth (and in this case it’s the Icelandic horse I’m talking about), Iceland wins the award this month for most creative way to increase property taxes! That’s right. Iceland, the 18^th largest island in the world with 23 counties and a population of 318,452, wins the top spot for property tax creativity.

Iceland isn’t horsing around. By reclassifying horse stables to industrial facilities they are able to increase the property taxes on those stables by almost 1,000%. How can they do this? How can a horse stable be considered industrial? I have no idea. Nor do the hundreds of stable owners affected by this change.

Unfortunately the horse has already left the barn. The City of Reykjavik made the decision and sent out no prior notification of the change. The owners of horse stables plan to find a solution and I wish them well in that fight.

Arbitrarily changing the classification of property…. Now that’s a horse of a different color.

Thanks to Mike Hunter for sending me the inspiration for this blog.

Weekly Top Posts: 2012-02-05

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:00:01 GMT

Is it “Third Time’s a Charm” or “Three Strikes, You’re Out” for ONESOURCE Property Tax?

attg.nospam@nospam.advantax.com (David LeVan) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:00:00 -0500

Being bored on the plane the other day I started reading “People” magazine. It was shocking to read about all the people breaking up. Katy Perry and Russell Brand after just 8 short months! I didn’t see that coming. Even Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore have broken up! Turns out there are lots of high profile celebs breaking up, and for many it’s not their first time!

When I arrived home I found out that Thomson Reuters is breaking up with its ONESOURCE Property Tax unit. It’s the second breakup for that unit in just under 5 years (you might recall that they used to have a relationship with Deloitte Tax). So, Katy Perry, Ashton Kutcher and the ONESOURCE Property Tax are back on the market once again looking for that lasting relationship.

It’s got to be hard to be back on the market. After all, don’t we all wish for relationships that are stable and long-term? So, Katy, Ashton, ONESOURCE PT, here are some helpful websites you might consider checking out before your next relationship:

· Chemistry.com where you can “find chemistry now”

· Relationshipsaver.org to learn how to “save your relationship even if your partner is unwilling”

· CatchHimandKeepHim.com to find all the “hidden reasons of how to have him begging you for forever in a committed relationship”

In fact, you might want to consider expanding your web research to some of the many dating sites (1 in 5 relationships begin online). Good luck to you. They say third time’s a charm, but then again there’s Elizabeth Taylor.

Weekly Top Posts: 2012-01-29

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:00:01 GMT

Contingency Fees for Sheriffs

attg.nospam@nospam.advantax.com (David LeVan) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:00:00 -0500

A contingent fee is a fee for services provided that is only payable if there is a positive result. Most commonly we think of attorney or consultant relationships when we think of contingency fees. A contingent fee is usually a percentage of the customer’s net recovery. Contingency fees provide a powerful motivation for attorneys and consultants to work diligently on behalf of their customers to maximize results.

Now there’s a new group allowed to work on a contingent fee basis, sheriffs in Louisiana. Under a Court of Appeals ruling the 64 sheriffs in Louisiana can now demand commissions of 12-17 percent of what they collect in property taxes on behalf of other government agencies going forward. They can even go back all the way to 1978 for past commissions.

Livingston Parish Sheriff Willie Graves collected taxes for the Livingston Parish Council of Aging and charged a 12% commission, totaling about $400k since 2004. The Council of Aging asked for a refund, citing that is was unlawful for him to charge commissions, and won the ensuing civil suit. Graves appealed and won at the Court of Appeals, which set the new precedent. Additionally, it was ruled that his 12% commission could actually be a 17% commission.

Sounds like this might get messy! Sheriffs allowed to go back 30+ years to collect commissions from other government agencies. Hey, I wonder if they can do that on a contingency basis.

A Tax to Grind® by Advantax

Weekly Top Posts: 2012-02-12

Iceland isn’t Horsing Around with Its Property Taxes

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Weekly Top Posts: 2012-02-05

Is it “Third Time’s a Charm” or “Three Strikes, You’re Out” for ONESOURCE Property Tax?

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Weekly Top Posts: 2012-01-29

Contingency Fees for Sheriffs

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