Tax Realty Consultant

A recent CNN report notes that if elected, Barack would “simplify the tax code so that any employed American with a bank account can do their taxes in minutes if they take the standard deduction.” Further, Barack noted that “There’s no reason the IRS can’t send Americans pre-filled tax forms to verify. This means no more worry. No more wasted time.”

Right. We can hardly wait for the day that folks allow the IRS to do their tax returns for them, instead of the other way around. Judging from the quality and accuracy of communique from the IRS to taxpayers, which routinely contain assumptions and assertions regarding folks’ tax liabilities, and which seem to appear nearly every day, our guess is that taxpayers will want to run fast and far away from the day when they will let the Revenooers figure out the tax bill for them.

Good for a laugh, anyway.

And here’s the latest from the California Board of Equalization, which suddenly finds it necessary to express its expertise on the makeup of certain “adult beverages.”

Seems the BOE has concluded that some flavored malt beverages, such as Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Smirnoff Ice are actually “distilled spirits,” rather than beer.

“So what,” you ask? A modest increase in tax from 20 cents per gallon to $3.30, that’s what!

And a recent decision by the United States Supreme Court will certainly bring a smile to the face of more than one beleaguered Incline Village property taxpayer who may be embroiled in the ongoing effort to put the Washoe County Assessor in his place.

The recent unanimous decision in the matter of CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Georgia State Board of Equalization et al contains more than a few nuggets of wisdom which The Village League and its legal beagles may find of interest.

The issue in CSX, not unlike that of Incline Village, was the allegation that Georgia had grossly overestimated the market value of certain rail property. Some pearls from the sliver tongue of Chief Justice Roberts: “States may not tax railroad property at a ratio of assessed-to-true-market value higher than the ratio for other commercial and industrial property in the same jurisdiction … Georgia’s position is untenable given the way market value is calculated. Valuation is not a matter of mathematics, but an applied science, even a craft. Most appraisers estimate market value by employing not one methodology but a combination because no one approach is entirely accurate, at least in the absence of an established market for the type of property at issue … Given the extent to which the chosen methods can affect the determination of value, preventing courts from scrutinizing state valuation methodologies would render (a statute which authorizes the court to enjoin the tax in certain situations) a largely empty command, forcing district courts to accept as “true” the market value estimate of the State, one of the parties to the litigation. States, in turn, would be free to employ appraisal techniques that routinely overestimate the market worth of railroad assets … A State may use whatever method it likes, so long as the result is not discriminatory in violation of (the law).”

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