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September 27, 2007 Governor and Lt. Governor meet with Senators to review property tax issues
Gov. John deJongh, Jr. and Lt. Gov. Gregory Francis, along with Tax Assessor Roy Martin, and other government officials, met with members of the 27th Legislature Thursday to review the current status of real property taxation in the Territory and to outline the Administration's proposals. "We must regain local control of our property tax system here in the Virgin Islands. This meeting today was an important next step towards doing just that as legislation will be required and that is always best done cooperatively," said deJongh. The main cause for the problems facing the government stem from litigation that has stymied the territory from sending out anything other than old bills while the court-ordered revaluation of all property was completed. The real estate markets have changed over the years since 1998 and these changes have not been reflected in the bills sent property owners. deJongh acknowledged that "as a result of the steady and hard work of many persons both prior to this Administration and during the last 9 months, the Virgin Islands is now at a point where it can approach the U.S. District Court to seek approval of a constitutional and modernized real property taxation system. The Tax Assessor’s office and its consultants continue to work with all property owners to be sure the recently mailed Revaluation Notices are correct." The deJongh Administration has proposed a plan of action that has been crafted to try to deal with a number of very important concerns, all of which required balancing and compromise. The recent budget as passed by the Senate to be sent to the Governor was premised on an increase of $10 million from the amount last collected under the old system of unrevised property tax assessments and the old rate which equaled 3/4 of one percent of the fair market valuation of the property being taxed. In order to not unduly impact homeowners, the elderly, and to recognize the fact that the past system had not been updated or revised for decades, the administration outlined proposals to differentiate tax rates for residential property, land, commercial property and timeshares as well as to modernize and increase the exemptions previously available for homesteads, the elderly, and veterans. This was done so as to assure that the recent revaluation of property values across the territory does not work against the goal of homeownership for Virgin Islanders. The proposed new rates are a reduction in the rate for residential property owners as well as a reduction for commercial properties. Also outlined was a proposal to mitigate the effects where property owners have experienced extraordinary increases in taxation of over 125% by providing additional tax relief. "Greg Francis and I both know that the subject of taxes is never a welcome one, but it is one that this administration inherited and we pledge to work closely with the leadership and the members of the Legislature in finalizing this required legislation. This proposal is essential for the territory to regain control of its real property tax system and necessary for the raising of the revenues needed to for the government to provide adequate services and commensurate salaries without interruption," deJongh said. |
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