Village League to Save Incline Assets vs. Washoe County Tax Assessor

It all started with a postcard sent to property owners in 2002 announcing  a new property assessment value card. Easily discarded by owners due to the bold face type stating “this is not a tax bill”.

Village League to Save Incline Assets vs. Washoe County Tax Assessor

Little did property owners, especially those residing in lake front homes, understand their property  taxes were increased anywhere from 49% to as much as 375%  from the previous tax bill!!!  No prior notice or justification simply a notice followed by a bill.  It was blatantly obvious the tax board was targeting Incline Village and Crystal  Bay  home owners many of which are second homeowners.

Assessors were basically valuing properties using an unjustifiable methodology which favored excessive tax increases.

From its first efforts which started in December 2002, the “Village League to Save Incline Assets” has succeeded in influencing the entire appraisal system for assessing real property in the state of Nevada! It took six years of litigation, education, protest and the engagement of many experts by the Village League. In so doing, the  Village League successfully turned the tables of change. They worked with the Washoe County  Commission to appoint qualified people to Washoe County Board of Equalization to make property decisions that effect the public; they worked with the Nevada Tax Commission to update the rules and regulations; they assisted the legal system to obtain justice from the Nevada courts and educated the public as to what can be accomplished when dedicated citizens work together!

This year property owners received a minimum 10% reduction in their property tax bill for the assessed land value.  In addition there is a new proposal for an additional 15% reduction  presented by Josh Wilson, Washoe County Assessor to the county board on  January 28, 2009.  This 15% reduction proposal is related to a reduction in average taxable land values.

Wilson came up with the 15% figure based on the downward trend over the last year in the real estate market.  Before the proposal can go into effect each parcel’s tax bill will need to be calculated based on their current valuation.

In a new slight of hand trick, the Washoe County Assessor has responded by increasing the valuations of the structures on the properties.  Whereas the Save incline Village groups main fight was based on the valuation of the land.  There are many things that can be said about politicians and tax collectors, and one thing for sure is that they are never going to give themselves a voluntary pay cut and our real estate is their meal ticket.  Keep your eyes on your tax statements because they’re going to try and raise your taxes no matter what.