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September 29, 2007
deJongh welcomes Senate input on real property tax legislation In the aftermath of this week’s meeting on property taxes with members of the 27th Legislature, Gov. John deJongh said Saturday that the administration welcomes any proposal from members of the Senate on the revaluation of real property taxes. "The ramifications of our decisions in this area are too important not to engage in a give-and- take between the Senate and the administration. I make a distinction between a comment and submission of a formal proposal, and as of right now, there is no proposal from the Senate on the table," deJongh said. The administration is continuing to work on proposed legislation that will be sent to the legislative body for its consideration within the next ten days to address this sensitive issue, deJongh added. The plan of action that has been crafted will deal with a number of very important concerns, all of which required balancing and compromise. Also under consideration is a plan that would centralize all aspects of property taxation and collection at the Department of Finance to create a one-stop for residents who have questions or concerns about their taxes or for those who want to pay their taxes. At the present time, the process is splintered across several agencies of the Government. The recent budget as passed by the Senate 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. deJongh said all efforts are being made for the V.I. government to regain control of the property tax system and at the same time, streamline and revamp the appeal process at the V.I. Board of Tax Review. DeJongh acknowledged that "as a result of the steady and hard work of many persons both prior to this Administration and during the last nine 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." |
