A defeat for homeowners from the legislature, who are now taxing homeowners by default who then have to prove ownership otherwise:
"Currently, many homeowners are unaware that their residential property taxes are lowered by a payment made from the State General Fund directly to the county in which the property is located. This payment is paid to residential properties in Class Three of the property tax code. Class Three properties include owner-occupied primary residences and second/vacation homes. Currently, the rebate happens automatically without the homeowner having to apply for the tax reduction. To note, rental properties are required to be registered as Class Four of the property tax code and are not eligible for the homeowners rebate. Each homeowner can locate their home’s annual rebate by looking at a past year’s property tax bill for the words, “State Aid.”
Under the new legislation, owners of second or vacation property would be disqualified from receiving the homeowner’s rebate, which normally saves the homeowners up to $600 a year—their property taxes will go up. On top of automatically disqualifying some properties from the rebate, the bill further complicates the process of obtaining the rebate by requiring the homeowner to go through the cumbersome process of signing an affidavit beginning in 2012 and subsequent even-numbered years, under penalty of perjury, that they are living in the home or that the home is being leased or rented to a relative.
The affidavit will be mailed along with the annual Notice of Full Cash Value sent to owners of Class Three Property. The forms must be completed and returned to the County Assessor within 60 days or the residential property will be reclassified as Class Four and the property taxes will go up as much as $600 depending on the home’s value.
The problem with the affidavit is that it treats the property as a rental until the homeowner can prove otherwise."
EXCERPTED from Passage of the "Jobs Bill" - Residential Property Tax Impacts
By Nicole LaSlavic, AAR Government Affairs Director --- Arizona REALTOR® Magazine — April 2011
my comments:
I think taxing by default is the most cowardly way possible by government. By strangling the homeowner and investor, we will only slow our real estate recovery even further. Why not just tax us whatever you want and then give us 60 days to protest? Oh, that's right, they already do that...
Make sure you know about the different Classes and tax repercussions. They will thank you for it!