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Taxpayers for Equal Appraisal Access
Information!
Taxation must be equal and uniform!
Property taxes must be equal and uniform.
Protesting taxes must be a fair and equitable process.
All property must be valued and taxed equally and uniformly.
Taxpayers for equal appraisal!
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Learn to save millions in property taxes by learning here what you can do!
Email us: coachdanhart@msn.com
Texas Taxpayers should read HCAD'S Chief Appraiser's warnings to Texas Appraisal Districts [ that follows ]
and answer the five Taxpayer plain language questions. Then Taxpayers should talk to their Texas Legislators about the many complaints and how
Small Claims Court Tax Appeal
can help solve many of the complaints !
*March 2003 { TAAD } APPRISER Page 3*
Guest View: Plain Language from Legislative Front
By Jim Robinson, TAAD Legislative Committee Chair
On Thursday, February 27, the House Local Government Ways & Means Committee heard public testimony on two bills providing for appeal of certain low value ARB decisions to justice of the peace (JP) court (as opposed to district court), and to change the governance of appraisal districts to either the county assessor or a partially elected board of directors.
The two governance bills were strongly opposed by lobbyists for the business community, by the Texas Conference of Urban Counties, and by TAAD. Deborah Hunt appeared in behalf of TACA and voiced the unanimous opposition of county assessor/collectors. I now believe these bills are dead for the regular session, but may well return a special session later this year or early next year. There are clear signals from the House leadership that such may be the case.
At least one of the JP court bills, however, is likely to advance in the current regular session. Your TAAD legislative committee will work closely with the House leadership in trying to arrive at a workable solution for all parties.
You will soon receive, if you haven't already done so, a letter from Local Government Ways & Means Committee Chair Fred Hill advising that the legislature is being distracted by complaints of rudeness on the part of appraisal districts. Additionally, governmental lobbyists from two different organizations told me that multiple House committee chairmen have spoken to them privately about arrogant, rude or indifferent treatment from appraisal district staffs or ARB members in numerous counties, including some that was directed toward the chairmen themselves.
If you want to continue having a job and a secure retirement, it is incumbent upon you to make certain that such things don't occur in your district.
Here are some of the complaints:
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Appraisal district staff members aren't willing to listen and rudely told the taxpayer, "if you don't like it, take it to the ARB." I have no doubt that this is said often, because an appeal to the ARB is the route people must take if they are dissatisfied. It would be much better, however, to advise people of the next step by saying something like this: “Based on the information available to us about your property, and the requirements of the law, I'm not in a position to recommend a change at the administrative level. You do, however, have the right to have your case heard by the appraisal review board."
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After receiving an unfavorable ARB decision, the taxpayer is told: "If you don't like it, sue!" Again, the answer is technically correct but the method of delivery offensive. Perhaps a more appropriate response would be along these lines: "The ARB didn't feel that the facts, and the law, supported the change you were seeking. You have a right to appeal this decision to the state district court.” The slightly different phrasing of the answer, as in the case of complaint #1, is less likely to come across as arrogant or offensive.
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Taxpayers are told in ARB hearings that they have no right to cross examine the CAD appraiser. If an ARB is saying this, they need to be reading the Texas Tax Code!
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Either the appraisal district staff, the ARB, or both told the property owner: "The school district can't stand the loss of value." Folks, it doesn't make a rat's you-know-what whether a taxing unit likes the result or not. Our job is to produce the correct market value and to make sure taxation is equal and uniform, not to protect someone's tax base. By the way, I didn't see anybody from the school districts protecting your job yesterday at Ways & Means. Your strongest support came from the business lobby.
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A House committee chairman, in the case of his own property, was told that the appraisal district wouldn't correct a square footage error in his garage because he didn't check the right box on the protest form.
I could go on, but you get the picture.
If we want to survive, we will make absolutely certain that every taxpayer who deals with our districts is listened to and treated with courtesy and respect. We will also make sure that all our decisions are based on the evidence, and not on some desire to protect the tax base.
In the event we are unable to do this, we should plan for a future in which appraisal districts aren't a part!
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TAXPAYER PLAIN LANGUAGE QUESTIONS
1. HOW COULD 2 ELECTED APPRAISAL DISTRICT DIRECTORS UPSET THE APPLE CART SO MUCH IF THEY REPORTED TO THE TAXPAYERS QUARTERLY?
2. WHAT WILL CHAIRMAN HILL’S LETTER SAY ABOUT CADS?
3. WILL CAD STAFF CONTINUE TO HAVE JOBS & SECURE RETIREMENTS?
4. HOW LONG WOULD A STATEWIDE TAXPAYER COMPLAINT LIST BE?
5. HOW MANY TAXPAYERS WOULD LIKE A FUTURE WITHOUT APPRAISAL DISTRICTS?
Let's roll! ...
We will win!
We can win our rights!
by....
Establishing small
claims court tax appeal.
Contact your elected officials in your state government and tell them you
want your property taxes to be appealed in small claims court. It will
save millions of dollars $$$ for all property taxpayers.
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HCADTEA.ORG is a non-profit organization established to help you understand how to protest your property taxes, both real property and business property. This applies to Harris County property taxes, to protesting property taxes in Texas and protesting property taxes throughout the United States.
Protesting Property Owner Taxpayers Seek Their Rights in The People’s Court.
(which is to say, small claims court).Ad valorem taxes
All property owners should have equal appeal rights in the courts. The present situation is fundamentally available to only the large taxpayers that can afford the costs and money, and time, and legal team to go into State District Court.
If you, for example, wanted to protest your property taxes, you first would appeal to the appraisal district review board (ARB). Then, you would get a ruling from the ARB. If, at this time, you wanted to protest that final ARB ruling, your only recourse is to take your case into State District Court. very expensive...$$$$$.
But, the Appraisal District knows that you probably will not want to spend the money necessary to go into State District Court. Also, the Appraisal District knows that you do not want to spend your valuable time to go into state district court.
What we at
Taxpayers for equal appraisal, are proposing is this:
You should have the legal right and legal recourse to take your case into Small Claims Court.
This is also known as "the people’s court". Here, for a fee of about $25.00, you can go before a judge and/or jury in small claims court and protest your ruling from the appraisal district.
Once this bill is passed in the state of Texas, it will sweep across the entire United States and pass. Then, everyone will have the legal right and legal recourse to take his/her property tax case into small claims court.
and save millions of dollars for all the property taxpayers in America.
Email us: coachdanhart@msn.com
There was a bill introduced in the Texas Legislature in the year 2001, and it was heard by the Texas House Ways and Means Committee. The Ways and Means Committee’s job is to handle money matters in the Texas House of Representatives. This bill (HB1060) was heard and then it "died" because not enough of the members of the Ways and means committee would support it because they knew that the voters did not know very much about it.
Only 3 people appeared as witnesses AGAINST HB1060 when HB1060 was before the powerful ways and means committee. They were 3 powerful men. The 3 people were one from Harris County appraisal District (mostly Houston, Texas), one from the Dallas County appraisal district (mostly Dallas, Texas) , and one from Cameron County appraisal district (mostly Brownsville, Texas, or the valley.) Three men. These 3 men were chief appraisers and were the only witnesses to speak in Austin, Texas against the bill and against your rights to appeal your taxation in court, that is to say, to appeal your property taxes in small claims court rather than in state district court.
Taxpayers for equal appraisal (tea) will provide you with a tape of the witnesses speaking about the HB1060.
Email us to get a copy of this video tape.
Email: coachdanhart@msn.com
The real fundamental issue is this:
They (the opposition forces to property taxpayers appeal rights ) (i.e. the 3 powerful men from the appraisal districts), by being sure that HB1060 was "killed", were denying you your rights in 4 ways:
- They were denying many voters and property owner taxpayers of their rights to appeal taxation, and also
- they were denying many taxpayers the right, for just a small amount of money, to appeal their property taxes in order to save money. And
- they were denying many taxpayers the right to obtain a reduction in the amount of money owed to the government (no matter how small!!!) on their property taxes. And,
- they were denying many taxpayers the right to protest in a timely and cost effective manner.
This bill must be reintroduced to the Texas legislature. (And the next time the Texas legislature meets, as you know, is only every other year or in January of 2009).
Plans are to encourage every taxpayer and voter to support the reintroduction of this bill (or a similar bill) in the next legislative session. This means that by January 2009, you the taxpayer must have taken action to see that this bill is not only introduced but also you must apply enough pressure for it to be passed by both houses and signed by the Governor.
This bill should have been passed years ago and should have been a taxpayer right from the beginning.
Note on word usage: In Texas, the state governing houses are collectively called, "the legislature", which includes a House of Representatives and a Senate.
On the other hand, in our national (or federal) government, the governing houses are called, Congress, which also includes a House of Representatives and a Senate.
Harris County Property Taxes.
Email us if you want to be on the team and perhaps serve on one of the committees.
Email us: coachdanhart@msn.com
If you want more information, email us.
What is the taxpayer's role?
You can play an effective role in the process.....
if you know your rights, understand the remedies available to you, and fulfill your responsibilities.
