Las Vegas, located in Clark County, NV, is called "Sin City," but the real sin is paying an over-inflated property tax bill.
Clark County also boasts zero personal income tax, unitary tax, inventory tax, estate and gift tax, inheritance tax and special intangible tax, BUT it does tax real estate.
Tax Revenue Cutbacks
The tax revenue in Clark County has been diminishing every year since 2005, when the Nevada Legislature started protecting homeowners from astronomically high tax bills. Shortly after, the market crashed, creating a gap between values and taxes. For now, the County predicts that they will lose another $150 million due to tax appeals in the next year.
Property Taxes: All over the Map
Clark County seems to have had a problem with over-assessing properties in the past - over 8,000 tax bills have been appealed by residents in 2010 alone. That number has risen over 30 percent since the prior year! Fortunately, most of the appeals were accepted by the Clark County Board of Equalization. This is good news for you if you are thinking about appealing your tax bill. You have until March 17, 2011 to pay your last installment before fees accrue.
Despite the large numbers of people filing appeals, some residents have noticed that their bills are smaller than last year. What is causing the discrepancy? Which ones are the correct assessments? These questions have been plaguing Clark County since 2006, when the problems started. The last few years have seen a revolving door of Clark County Appraisers, starting with Gerrit Hale, who was the Deputy Assessor. The office has lost three of its assessors in the past year, which has undoubtedly contributed to the confusion with property tax bills.
The election is coming up, and Michele Schafe, who is the current Assistant Director to the Clark County Assessor, is running for County Assessor. Her direct competitor is Gerrit Hale, the former Deputy Assessor. Who will be the one to fix the county's broken assessment system? Only the voters will decide...
References:
http://www.accessclarkcounty.com/depts/public_communications/news_releas...
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2010-03-29-property-tax-as...
http://nevadanewsandviews.com/2010/08/20/something-not-adding-up-in-clar...
