This is an old and ancient tax, and in the living past very modest, maybe $100 or less each year. However that is changing, naturally for the worse.

I have a friend who owns a bar in Massachusetts. Most everything in the bar requires a ‘license’. Hence on the first of the year he is down at the town office handing over $15, 000 for ‘licenses’. Jukebox, license. Pool table, license. Sell cigarettes? License. Have some packages of chips? License. Serve prepared food? License. And to add insult to injury, another set for everything for being open on Sunday. Separation of state and church don’t you know.

So the pattern as in criminal law is to make what was one a single crime, or tax, into many little crimes and taxes. Then raise the prices

Someday people will just give themselves to the state as slaves just to be free of the torture of the state’s machinations.

What I received back was a highly detailed assessment of the entire property which I note was actually carried out by the landlord’s estate agent with a copy forwarded to the Valuations Office in Westminster. The actual valuation does not appear to be based upon sound mathematical calculation but upon the usual semi-literate London estate agent ‘guesstimate’ of property worth. Naturally I am now appealing the entire process by which the VO arrived at the figure they are levying.

In the US, most all jurisdictions require building permits for any remodel over a pittance. This information is then used to recalculate your estimated sale value for tax purposes.

The inspections are because so many people figured out how to beat the system. I’ve found the best way to get a not-inflated assessment is to thoroughly acquaint myself with all of the property’s flaws. Learn the ages of heating etc equipment, know all the sags a cracks in the foundation, know the age and condition of the roof, and on … THen, accompany the assessor and make sure that he notes every single flaw that may reduce the value of the house.

If you don’t let them in to inspect (not home, etc.) they measure the outside and then make guesses. These guesses don’t have to be based on anything already on file, but are rather the intuitions and estimations of the assessor. One guess how often they guess low.

It’s my guess that after the debacle of the poll tax, these taxes are a ‘third rail’ for your politicos. Much like our social security system. They have probably been treading very lightly in this area compared to other big brotherish activities. It is sounding like that may be coming to an end.

The lastest example of the extremes it is reaching is in the campgrounds.

By tax code, trailers under 400 square feet are not taxed as property, since they are vehicles. (Even though some of them rarely move.) In an effort to increase tax revenue, the new interpretation is that when these seasonal campers build porches, if those porches are attached, the entire unit is taxed as a house. If they are not attached, the porch (and garden sheds, etc) is still taxed as personal property (as opposed to ‘real’ property), . A simple bead of caulk between the porch roof and the trailer is enough to turn the trailer into a ‘house’. The previous assessor was willing to consider it unattached if he could slide a business card between them, so pushed in foam seals were okay. THe new assessor seems unwilling to accept that distinction.

We don’t own property in the USA, we rent it from the government. And this is one category in which we are in worse shape than you guys by most measures.

The primary reason for looking at realitor data is to get the most current estimated values of property. The principle reason for wanting to know this non-transactional value is to charge a property tax. Y’all may want to brace yourselves for a good ole Amurrican style property tax if you don’t already have one. Whatever they choose to call it.