|
|
|
Information is currency for democracy.
- Thomas Jefferson
A day without sunshine is like, you know, night. - Steve Martin Education is unique among consumer products; when it fails to work as advertised, it's the customer that gets labeled as defective. - Kevin Killion
Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtues consistently. You can't be consistently kind or fair or humane or generous, not without courage, because if you don't have it, sooner or later you will stop and say, "The threat is too much. The difficulty is ...too high. The challenge is too great. ~ Maya Angelou
|
Fair is Fair.
Posted July 29, 2008
It appears that while Nola Wellman owned 809 Knollwood, a portion of the property at that address was omitted from the tax rolls. Specifically, the house was appraised at approximately $1,000,000 dollars less than the accurate value, and included 2,200 square feet that was not reflected on the tax rolls. Further, the value of the property, when owned by Ms. Wellman, clearly did not reflect a “down to the studs” renovation as described by her Internet advertisement when the property was recently marketed for sale. Wellman's appraisal - May 2008 - 3638 square feet, value $789.829 New owner's appraisal - July 2008 - 5834 square feet, value $1,647,573 This omitted property can be added to the tax rolls per Texas Tax Code Section 25.21:
Texas Tax Code Section 25.21. Omitted Property. www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/tc04/ch25c.htm#25.21 (a) If the chief appraiser discovers that real property was omitted from an appraisal roll in any one of the five preceding years or that personal property was omitted from an appraisal roll in one of the two preceding years, he shall appraise the property as of January 1 of each year that it was omitted and enter the property and its appraised value in the appraisal records. (b) The entry shall show that the appraisal is for property that was omitted from an appraisal roll in a prior year and shall indicate the year and the appraised value for each year. Amended by 1981 Tex. Laws (1st C.S.), p. 161, ch. 13, Sec. 109; amended by 1991 Tex. Laws, p. 1417, ch. 367, Sec. 1, and 1991 Tex. Laws, p. 2891, ch. 836, Sec. 1.2. The chief appraiser's duty to back access property omitted from the appraisal roll whenever an error is discovered is mandatory and not discretionary. A taxing unit may sue the chief appraiser who fails to perform this duty. Back assessment for an erroneously granted exemption is a current year tax, and it is not subject to a taxing unit filing a challenge in the tax year in question. Atascosa County v. Atascosa County Appraisal District, 990 S.W.2d 255 (Tex. 1999).
The Chief Appraiser's duty to correct the tax roll and add the real property that was omitted during the past five years is mandatory and not discretionary, according to Texas Tax Code Section 26.09: http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/tc04/ch26c.htm#26.09
Texas Tax Code Section 26.09 states: The chief appraiser's duty to back access property omitted from the appraisal roll whenever an error is discovered is mandatory and not discretionary. A taxing unit may sue the chief appraiser who fails to perform this duty. Back assessment for an erroneously granted exemption is a current year tax, and it is not subject to a taxing unit filing a challenge in the tax year in question. Atascosa County v. Atascosa County Appraisal District, 990 S.W.2d 255 (Tex. 1999).
Once the property is added to the tax rolls, the County Tax Assessor-Collector can take appropriate action to collect the back taxes.
|
|