• Tax assessment casesTax cases Tax assessment casesTax cases In preparing to challenge Kaua‘i County over its illegal means of extracting property tax from its residents I am beginning to compile some rather startling information which I believe the concerned
• Tax assessment casesTax cases
Tax assessment casesTax cases
In preparing to challenge Kaua‘i County over its illegal means of extracting property tax from its residents I am beginning to compile some rather startling information which I believe the concerned residents of this island ought to know.
Case 1: Property, not near the beach at Kekaha, owned many years by a local family, saw an assessment increase of 256% from 2001 to 2005.
The land assessment in 2001 was $62,530. There was no building assessment because the home itself is very modest. So this is basically the land assessment. That assessment went up to $222,800 in 2005!
Case 2: A Hawaiian family in Hanalei, not on the beach, saw its land assessment (again, no building assessment) go up 330% from $199,000 in 2001 to $856,000 in 2005.
Case 3: A multi-generation Hawaiian family in Hanalei, not on the beach, saw its land assessment rise by 722% from $139,000 in 2001 to $1,142,100 in 2005.
Case 4: A haole family in Hanalei, not on the beach, saw its land assessment (very modest house, no building assessment) rise 144% from $476,700 in 2001 to $1,165,300 in 2005.
Case 5: A haole family in Princeville had a total assessment (land plus building) of $97,600 rise 220% to $324,000 in 2005.
Case 6: A haole family with a large house on the beach in Hanalei saw its total assessment rise 235% from $1,371,000 in 2001 to $4,589,700 in 2005.
Rather than having the Mayor worry about gated communities and the Council boasting about its generosity in offering property tax relief, what they really ought to do is read and understand their own Tax Code, and demand some accountability on the parts of their high-salaried senior supervisory staff.
