Del. Iaquinto’s bill helping homeowners passes House
By Brian Kirwin | Thursday, February 4th, 2010 | PolicyDel. Iaquinto’s effort to shift the burden of proof to the government in real estate tax assessments got a resounding show of support in the House of Delegates, passing with overwhelming bipartisan support, 86-13.
“There is no reason that the taxpayer should have the heightened burden to defend his property.” Iaquinto said. “It is time we level the playing field so the taxpayer has a fighting chance to challenge his assessment.”
House Bill 570, which passed the House of Delegates today with strong bipartisan support, would benefit homeowners who challenge a tax assessor’s valuation of their property.
Currently, when a taxpayer believes he is being overcharged, he faces an uphill battle because the government’s assessment is presumed to be correct in any appeal. Iaquinto’s bill would lift that burden off the taxpayer by simply requiring the government official to demonstrate how the assessment was calculated.
It’s a strong point. Government has lots of information at its disposal, and should have to justify its conclusion.
Iaquinto’s bill now heads to the Senate.
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About the author
The right wants to jeer him. The left wants to censor him. Moderates usually want both. Brian Kirwin is a political consultant and public relations strategist in Virginia Beach with a lightning-rod flair. Brian also serves on the VB Arts & Humanities Commission and frequently appears on Hampton Roads theatrical stages, if only to prove that all actors aren’t liberals. Kirwin’s columns stir up debate and hit the political scene with no punches pulled.
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10 Responses to "Del. Iaquinto’s bill helping homeowners passes House"
Here’a a better idea. No assessments.
Republicans should really focus on the real estate tax, because unlike the perfectly fair car tax and estate tax, which the GOP has in turn called the “unfairest tax of all”..the real estate tax really is unfair. Because it charges taxpayers real taxes on theoretical gains in the value of their property.
So here’s a law some Republican should put in: for purposes of real estate taxation the value of a property shall be considered to be (a) the amount for which it was last sold or (b) the amont of the last lien taken against the property, whichever is greater.
Local governments would all hate this of course, but it’s fair.
Is BD still covering the race in VA-02? I know of a couple candidates that have released interesting updates about their respective campaigns. In addition to endorsements, campaign finance reports came out. Any updates?
Perhaps some of the powers-that-be here at BD don’t like the latest news so they wish to simply ignore it – sweeping it under the proverbial rug as it were. Or, perhaps since they are volunteers writing for our amusement and they are lucky enough to have day jobs they just haven’t gotten a ‘roun to it, yet. I prefer to believe it’s the latter.
God Bless You, Sal Iaquinto. Thanks for looking out for the regular people.
Geez-frickin-louise!!!!
Thanks, Ron.
A post on the 2nd is forthcoming. Much information this past week has been gathered. There is heat to go around for every candidate. I’m not sure if even those who think they are unscathed should be begging for us to write.
thanks for the update. i’ll look forward to it.
Maybe we could do a “Where are they now” about people who used to be involved in the Second District.
Stick to topics, please.
Go Sal!
[...] Bearing Drift has the great news: Currently, when a taxpayer believes he is being overcharged, he faces an uphill battle because the government’s assessment is presumed to be correct in any appeal. Iaquinto’s bill would lift that burden off the taxpayer by simply requiring the government official to demonstrate how the assessment was calculated. [...]
Thanks for the post on this bill. This is an important piece of legislation which faces an uphill battle in the Senate. If you want to see this bill pass please let the Senators know how you feel. There is no reason an already difficult process should be made more challenging for the taxpayer.
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