Calif glider property tax fishing?

In article . com,
wrote:

wrote:
Well, they may have you by the short hairs, Ken. If you ignore them,
they will assign a value to your sailplane and send you a bill. If
you
don't pay the bill, they will file a lien against your ship. If you
tell them it's in another county, they will notify the other county.
Doesn't even work to tell them its in another state, as they will
notify the other state, also.
Been there, Done that,
JJ


I second JJ's comments. I would call them and ask for instructions.
Typically, they will ask you to afix a copy of you last tax bill. that
should solve the problem.

Do NOT blow off the bill - a lien is difficult to remove. I almost
could not close on my house because of a $50.00 lien record for glider
property tax from the county of San Bernadino!!


But wait! I don't live in Kern County and the glider is not now nor
never has been in Kern County. The form says it's for "initial or
biennial review". Neither of those apply to me.

It seems to me that they only way I actually owe them money is if my
glider is or was in Kern County, neither of which is true.

Can't I just ask that they prove I owe them money? Why should I have to
prove that I *don't* owe them money? Does every aircraft owner get a
letter from these guys or am I just lucky?

I don't really mind paying what I owe, but I don't owe these guys
anything.

Ken

So send the response that you are not a resident of Kern County, and that
the glider has never been based in Kern County. And if you have last years
tax receipt from your own county, then maayybee.. offer then a copy.

It seems all the states and counties are getting wise to the fact of
"personal property taxes" on aircraft, and they are scouring the FAA record
base. A few years ago we received a "tax bill" for a glider that was
supposedly part of our club. Luckily some of the "old hat" members
remembered the glider, it was an old 2-22 that had been destroyed and taken
to the land fill, but evidently the N number was still in the FAA data base.

I was able to find the aircraft listed there and had the information I
needed to address the oldsters in the club. The registered owner had even
expired.. thankfully they did not take him to the land fill.

A simple letter to the County Assessor stating those facts, and the
information that the address they had for the "owner" did not even show up
in their own tax rolls was enough for the county to drop the issue.

So send them a letter registered mail, that the glider has never been
"domiciled" in their county, and neither have you. It might help if it's on
your lawyers or tax accountants letter head.

BT

"ken ward" wrote in message
...
In article . com,
wrote:

wrote:
Well, they may have you by the short hairs, Ken. If you ignore them,
they will assign a value to your sailplane and send you a bill. If
you
don't pay the bill, they will file a lien against your ship. If you
tell them it's in another county, they will notify the other county.
Doesn't even work to tell them its in another state, as they will
notify the other state, also.
Been there, Done that,
JJ


I second JJ's comments. I would call them and ask for instructions.
Typically, they will ask you to afix a copy of you last tax bill. that
should solve the problem.

Do NOT blow off the bill - a lien is difficult to remove. I almost
could not close on my house because of a $50.00 lien record for glider
property tax from the county of San Bernadino!!


But wait! I don't live in Kern County and the glider is not now nor
never has been in Kern County. The form says it's for "initial or
biennial review". Neither of those apply to me.

It seems to me that they only way I actually owe them money is if my
glider is or was in Kern County, neither of which is true.

Can't I just ask that they prove I owe them money? Why should I have to
prove that I *don't* owe them money? Does every aircraft owner get a
letter from these guys or am I just lucky?

I don't really mind paying what I owe, but I don't owe these guys
anything.

Ken

What you may be seeing is a state looking for money. Since the federal
government is cutting all they can and there are still medicaid and
universities to support, states might be looking a high dollar items,
erroneously or not.

In many states there are laws on the books to tax personal property at the
residential level. In the 1950's people were often taxed on ownership of
radios, TV's, washing machines, refrigerators, and so on. If the states
and counties get desperate enough, you may find the assessors on your front
step armed with the statutes that allow an inventory of your personal
items. Ever play Monopoly? What image was on the excise tax square, a
diamond ring right?

You might ask your parents or grandparents about personal property taxation
50-60 years ago. Some states were certainly more onerous than others, but
I reckon the majority may have such statutes on the books. When the burden
and cost of services is passed to the local authorities, they could get
very personal about your property indeed. Check out the writings of Max
Weber some day.

Frank Whiteley

BTIZ wrote:

So send the response that you are not a resident of Kern County, and that
the glider has never been based in Kern County. And if you have last
years tax receipt from your own county, then maayybee.. offer then a copy.

It seems all the states and counties are getting wise to the fact of
"personal property taxes" on aircraft, and they are scouring the FAA
record base. A few years ago we received a "tax bill" for a glider that
was supposedly part of our club. Luckily some of the "old hat" members
remembered the glider, it was an old 2-22 that had been destroyed and
taken to the land fill, but evidently the N number was still in the FAA
data base.

I was able to find the aircraft listed there and had the information I
needed to address the oldsters in the club. The registered owner had even
expired.. thankfully they did not take him to the land fill.

A simple letter to the County Assessor stating those facts, and the
information that the address they had for the "owner" did not even show up
in their own tax rolls was enough for the county to drop the issue.

So send them a letter registered mail, that the glider has never been
"domiciled" in their county, and neither have you. It might help if it's
on your lawyers or tax accountants letter head.

BT

"ken ward" wrote in message
...
In article . com,
wrote:

wrote:
Well, they may have you by the short hairs, Ken. If you ignore them,
they will assign a value to your sailplane and send you a bill. If
you
don't pay the bill, they will file a lien against your ship. If you
tell them it's in another county, they will notify the other county.
Doesn't even work to tell them its in another state, as they will
notify the other state, also.
Been there, Done that,
JJ


I second JJ's comments. I would call them and ask for instructions.
Typically, they will ask you to afix a copy of you last tax bill. that
should solve the problem.

Do NOT blow off the bill - a lien is difficult to remove. I almost
could not close on my house because of a $50.00 lien record for glider
property tax from the county of San Bernadino!!


But wait! I don't live in Kern County and the glider is not now nor
never has been in Kern County. The form says it's for "initial or
biennial review". Neither of those apply to me.

It seems to me that they only way I actually owe them money is if my
glider is or was in Kern County, neither of which is true.

Can't I just ask that they prove I owe them money? Why should I have to
prove that I *don't* owe them money? Does every aircraft owner get a
letter from these guys or am I just lucky?

I don't really mind paying what I owe, but I don't owe these guys
anything.

Ken