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January 3, 2008
Governor calls Special Session for Thursday for Senate to consider Real Property Tax Legislation
Gov. John P. deJongh, Jr. has called the 27th Legislature into special session on Thursday, February 7th; to consider legislation which addresses real property taxes and brings much needed property tax relief for Virgin Islanders. In the first session call of his Administration, deJongh, at a news conference today, explained that "the present situation with regard to the real property tax system of the Virgin Islands remains unsettled and does not provide our constituents with the sense of security which they rightfully expect from their elected leaders." DeJongh described the matter as "an utmost priority to our citizens given the importance of real property taxes to the budget of the Government and the significance of the Government properly administering its own real property tax system." The bill which the Governor forwarded to the Senate today differs from an earlier version in several respects: the income qualification for homeowners whose tax liability has dramatically increased has been raised from $70,000 to $90,000; the minimum property tax liability for real property owners has been decreased from $400 to $300; the issuance of only one property tax bill in fiscal year 2008; appropriations to the Office of the Tax Assessor of $60,000 to $30,000 for training and equipment have been added. In addition, the legislation submitted includes a provision which allows the Governor to direct a tax amnesty for the tax year 2005 and all prior years. "The additional measures contained in the proposed legislation will provide V.I. property owners with additional relief from the effects of the increased values of their properties," deJongh said. The governor also noted that St. John represents a "special case," where the real estate market has skyrocketed over the past decade. In fact, 606 revaluation appeals were filed on St. John in total, and according to Tax Assessor, Roy Martin, "We anticipate that the revised values, as assessed, will be posted on the public access website, www.vipropertyrevaluation.com, by early next week. These valuations are inclusive of 2006 sales analysis, as submitted to the Special Master, along with other changes made to the revaluations and in accordance with the informal hearing appeals process. Through this sharing of information, all property owners throughout the territory will be able to view the new valuations for their properties." The Special Master has been receiving monthly reports from Bearing Point. As an arm of the Court, the Special Master is in place to make sure that the Government complies with the court order. Bearing Point was contracted by the Government and approved by the Special Master to complete the revaluations. A Special Session of the 27th Legislature has been called for Thursday, February 7, 2008, at 10:00 A.M. |
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