Possessory Interest Tax
February 5, 2012
This page has been updated with information that will help you prepare for filing your 2012 Appeal and defending your already filed 2010 and 2011appeal. If you've received a notice for your appeal hearing (scheduled) and you are not a member of the Possessory Interest Tax Appeal Task Force please contact BruceHeyman@cox.net.
Orange County Tax Assessor, Webster J. Guillory, has the responsibility of determining what should be enrolled on the tax roles and at what rate. He is independently elected to his office by the citizens of the County of Orange. Here is his report with back up data on the enrolment for 2011. There are several interesting elements concerning boats in this report.
The following documents were used at the Boaters for Dana Point Harbor sponsored Tax Workshops. If you are preparing for a hearing you will find these documents useful.
Tidelands Trust
Tidelands Trust Doctrine
Appeal Form
Tax code 107
August Workshop Presentation
Assessor's Handbook 510
Assessor's Handbook 576
Please check back frequently as more documents will be added as various assignments are completed.
January 20, 2009 - Update - Refund for ALL?
Great news, EVERYONE in the Harbor will see a 30% Possessory Interest Tax reduction from 2009 forward. All boaters will receive a 30% refund for 2008 and those who filed their appeals will also get a 60% refund for 2007. [Prop 13 valuations may prevent you from benefiting from the full 30% reduction.]
Just when you think things are going to get simpler they don’t. The good news is that thanks to the work of a few and the efforts of about 200 boaters in Dana Point Harbor, everyone will be getting a refund on their 2008 Possessory Interest Tax and lower taxes going forward. Not at all what was expected, but this is a novel tax. So here is the current best information from DePasquale Kelley and Company.
There are five classes of individuals:
- Boaters that did not file any appeals,
- Boaters that filed 2007 appeals,
- Boaters that filed 2008 appeals,
- Boaters that filed 2007 and 2008 appeals, and
- Boaters that filed an appeal but later withdrew it.
Given what we know right now and taking the last group first:
Class 5 boaters withdrew their appeal when they received the stern notice from the County of Orange that their Assessment may go up as a result of filing this appeal. These boaters will not receive a refund for 2007 but will receive a 30% refund for 2008 and enjoy lower taxes, 30% going forward.
Class 4 boaters will receive a 60% refund of their 2007 PI Tax and 30% of their 2008. It is expected that a portion of the 2007 refund will be returned to DePasquale Kelley and Company to compensate them for their superb representation. These boaters 2007 PI Tax appeals for 2008 are still pending and we are evaluating the next steps for these appeals.
Class 3 Boaters will automatically get a 30% refund but their appeals are still on the books and we are still evaluating the next steps for these appeals,
Class 2 Boaters will receive a 60% refund of their 2007 PI Tax and 30% of their 2008 PI Tax. A portion of the 2007 refund will be returned to DePasquale Kelley and Company to compensate them for their superb representation.
Class 1 Boaters will receive a 30% refund of their 2008 PI Tax
In all cases the 2009 (and beyond) Possessory Interest Tax will be 30% of what it would have been had we not filed any appeals.
Why so complicated? Will it get more complicated? The answers: “because it can” and “yes, probably”. The Assessors office is not required to provide a refund to the folks that did not file their appeal. However, he is required to provide for uniform assessments. While the Appeals Board awarded us a 60% reduction the Assessor is abiding by that for 2007 but choosing to go with a 30% reduction for 2008. We believe his rationale is that the 30% reduction reflects a more accurate accounting of the profit and expenses that the County of Orange incurs in managing the slips.
Next steps are to finish off making sure there were no errors in the process and that everyone has been handled correctly during the appeals process. Last week DePasquale, Kelley and Company were able to go before the appeals board and get two families that somehow had been missed by the County during last years hearings added to the 60% judgment. We are also determining how to handle the 2008 appeals which are still before us, obtaining legal quotes and advice on possibly moving into the court system with the 2007 appeal board results and to determine how best to proceed with the double taxation (slip fee increases and Possessory Interest Tax Assessment).
To stay current with this project please continue to monitor www.boaters4dph.com/PossessoryInterestTax. You can also email me at BruceHeyman@cox.net or call (949)-289-8400.
December 2008 - Boaters Win Appeal
As you will have read in the Boaters Blog we won the 2007 Apeal and received a 60% reduciton for the boaters that filed the appeal. There are many quesitons yet to be answered and I will post them here shortly. In the mean time if you are new to Possessory Interest Tax and want to understand some of what has ben done you can read this July 20, 2007 Boaters Blast (from when I was President of the Dana Point Boaters Associaiton).
If you have any urgent requests or issue please email me at bruceheyman@cox.net or call me (949) 289-8400.
