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Indybay Feature

Property Tax Related Issues!

by Verdi Tanriverdi (tanrierdi [at] gmail.com)
This story is about a Tax Collector abusing the codes that he has to obey by.
Open Letter to Mr. Larry Walker, Tax Collector SB County and anyone else who put the interest of community ahead of politics or self-interest!

Property taxes are due on April, 2015. Mr. Walker don’t be the one single handedly driving away up to three hundred million dollars from San Bernardino County economy. Please allow me to pay my taxes.

Last year, you sold 5 lots, out of 330 lot tract, in a Tax Sale. You introduced 5 new owners, into the development project. They are not aware that they can’t build on those lots unless off-site improvements (utilities, sewer, roads etc.) brought to those lots. No builder/developer will invest millions on offsite improvements if they are not the owners.

Now you have 147 of those lots also scheduled for the next tax sale. That will totally kill any chance of improving those lots. Once the current and the previous owners realize that they can’t do anything with these lots, they will stop making tax payments and let those properties go back to tax sales. Each year increased number of new lots coming to tax sale. You will include 330 new lots into the cycle of tax sale properties. Those lots will come to tax sales every few years. County will be selling the same lots over and over and over…

The alternative is allowing those homes to be built and sold, bringing up to one hundred millions of dollars to SB County economy directly. This $100,000,000 circulating up to 4 times before, during and after the construction will contribute to SB County economy more than three hundred millions of dollars creating thousands of new jobs directly and indirectly.

New properties will also generate more than a million dollar annually to the Tax Collector, that is more than the 100 times of what is collected now. Or, over ten million dollars will be collected during the next ten years. NO TAX SALE of those lots will generate this kinds of money to the SB County.

Mr. Walker, please put the interest of the county ahead of small money or looking good at the short time or appearing to be doing your job. This is not about petty personal issues or ego but its’ about lively hood of hundreds or maybe thousands of people getting jobs and improving lives of everyone in SB County.

You even have the laws on your side to place the BEST INTEREST OF SB COUNTY ahead of anything else. CODE: "§3698.8 The tax collector, upon the recommendation of county counsel, may remove a parcel from the tax sale if it is deemed the removal is in the best interest of the county."

I still believe that I have met my obligations and made every single payment that showed in my SB County Tax Collector Website account. If there was missing payment it was not due to “MY WILLFUL NEGLECT’. 1) Your office refused to remove those fees and penalties against existing codes, providing protection to taxpayers. 2) One of the charge for finding my address and sending me mails reaching $79,800 is unreasonable.

I am refusing to pay those amounts because I feel that your office has failed to operate ethically and apply the applicable taxation codes to my situation. Here are codes that Tax collector failed to apply.

1) RTC 4985.2. “Any penalty, costs, or other charges resulting from tax delinquency may be canceled by the auditor or the tax collector upon a finding of any of the following:
a) Failure to make a timely payment is due to reasonable cause and circumstances beyond the taxpayer’s control, and occurred notwithstanding the exercise of ordinary care in the absence of willful neglect,… ” If I have made every single payment for the following 5 years of missing payment, and if it only showed in my account after 5 years that is NOT due to ‘my willful neglect…’ but it is a mistake on your website.
2) Based on the following Revenue and Taxation Code: 4112. Effect on sale, etc. (a) When tax-defaulted property subject to the notice recorded under Section 3691.4 is redeemed, the tax collector shall collect all of the following, in addition to the amount required to redeem:
(1) A fee to reimburse the county for its actual and reasonable costs incurred in obtaining the names and last known mailing addresses of, and for mailing notices required by Sections 3701 and 3799 to, parties of interest as defined by Section 4675, which shall be distributed to the county general fund.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), if the tax-defaulted property is redeemed prior to the proposed sale, but after the county has incurred notice or publication costs pursuant to Section 3702 or 3798 in connection with a notice of intended sale, for its actual and reasonable costs incurred.”

I find $79,800 is unreasonable amount for finding my address that has not changed in decades. It is the same address where you have sent all the mails for the past 14 years. The code actually says “Actual and Reasonable Costs…” That also means your actual cost has to be reasonable too.
Mr. Walker,
1) I request that you cancel the Tax Sale of 5 lots previously sold at a tax sale. Your office is still within the statue of limitations to cancel those sales.
2) Please cancel 147 lots placed for upcoming Tax Sale immediately.
3) If I have missed any payments, (I still think I did not but if I did) please follow the Taxation code and allow me to pay my taxes without those absurd amount of fines and penalties for something I have not done wrong.

The actual tax amount in question is; $9,480.68
Late fees and penalties: $116,409.45 and $79,800 of this is to find my address!!!!
Total taxes and penalties : $125,890.13

I also find penalties reaching over 13 times of the original amount is against our constitution. 8th Amendment: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted…”
If those fees do not violate our constitution I don’t know what is.

Mr. Walker, PLEASE put the BEST INTEREST OF S.B COUNTY AHEAD OF EVERYTHING ELSE. Please don’t hold a grudge against me because I am insisting on my rights to be respected. As I obey the laws, I also feel and expect that the Tax Collector office to respect our constitution and laws.

Verdi Tanriverdi, a taxpayer to SB County for the past 14 years.
714-721-8222

PS: I think that this issue affect all property taxpayers not only in California but USA.
by michael besoyan
In California local governments have created a class of individuals that act far above the law . They are backed by the judiciary and within their lackluster performance enjoy stomping on the family's of California just to attempt to prove superiority over the citizen.
my home was a 100% loss due to unknown arson(s) in 2004. before the fire taxes due were 1800. per year. (our home was listed by zilliow in the top 1 % of values in our zip)

In the years after the loss taxes were duped up to over 7400 per year ...amassing a 10 year total due of over 50k. ( real amount due less than 5k) They toyed with us for a decade and stole the property and infrastructure in a bid rigged auction in 2014.
IT WAS OUR 40 YEAR ON THE ONE ACRE , IT TOOK AN INVASION OF SHERIFFS AND SWAT TO REMOVE ME IN 2015, DESTROYING EVERYTHING IN THEIR PATH DESPITE THE FACT I HAVE NO RECORD. THEY SPENT 400K TO CAPTURE A BURNT OUT PIECE OF PROPERTY...FRAUDULENT ,
CONSPIRED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY..........LEAVE THIS DISGUSTING STATE
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