Letter: Fair assessment is still a good deal
Monday, May 14, 2012
The May 11 front-page story “Couple take on the tax man” regarding property tax hardly qualifies as front-page news … but let’s see if I understand the facts presented.
A couple purchased a home for $21,500 in 1977. Their annual property tax based on 2010 assessed valuation was $124.
Now the effective age of their home is assessed to be younger, because $87,000 in insurance dollars was spent to repair damage caused by a falling tree. They also made $12,000 worth of other improvements to the home, so that now its assessed value is $25,620. Property taxes based on the new assessed valuation for 2011 are now $326.40.
Sorry, but I don’t think they recognize a good deal when they have one.
Ralph Burke
Vancouver
