Tax Bills Shock Hoosiers Whose Farmland Reclassified

[kludge]

My wife made me aware of this... sounds pretty slimy to me.

Tax bills shock Hoosiers whose farmland is reclassified

 

[HoughMade]

On a slightly related note, I bought 2 acres in Porter County several years ago. At the time it was zoned agricultural and, in fact, was vacant and it's only use was allowing a farmer to spread manure on it and ATVs to ride on it. I was going to build on it eventually. for several years, the property taxes were $39.44 a year. Then in about 2010, Porter County reassesed it and found it was more of a vacant building lot than agricultural, and the tax bill changed slightly- to $600 a year.

I later sold the property.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Right here on INGO I was told I must be just a whiner for *****ing about the 4-5 fold increase in my property tax in one year (when nothing had changed on the property) and how everyone else in the thread said their taxes went down. I suspect every single one of those people who told me to quit whining would turn into whiners themselves if the same thing happened to them.

 

[selinoid44]

So what I'm reading is if the assessor is a anti-farm activist and wants to screw the farmer (ie: two chickens and a goat, or tillable acres) he/she can deem your land residential and therefore raise your property tax? Its bad enough property tax is going up 30-40% already but to have this thrown upon a family is bull.

 

[Leadeye]

Just the government digging deeper into your pocket and lying about it as they go.

 

[ruger1800]

Agenda 21

 

[Destro]

Agenda 21

 

[amboy49]

I'm friends with the guy who is interviewed. The back story on this is Union Township, Boone County was brought into the Town of Zionsville via referendum in 2009 under the guise that this would enable the Union Twn residents to have better control over zoning in their township. Because of the property tax ceiling in Indiana property taxes can't be raised. However, if the assessed value goes up more taxes can be/are collected. The Town of Zionsville and more importantly the Zionsville Community School system has an insatiable need for ever greater revenue. The folks that live in Zionsville subdivisions don't have extra land to reclassify hence they can't be forced to pay higher property taxes. But the folks who live out in the rural area(s) and have 5-10 acres for recreational use (horses, hunting, atv riding, etc) have now had their land changed from agriculture to "excess residential" which causes an increase in the assessed valuation. Hence the cost of property tax goes up exponentially for the rurul land owners and the Town and school system get more money to spend. (In my opinion the Town and the school system are grossly overfunded and demonstrate no budgetary restraint).

There is a group of well financed and influential township residents now fighting for change re: this issue. They have met with state legislators and have gained support. Time will tell how this plays out. Be careful as the saying goes when you hear "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

 

[winchester]

this happened to me in 2008 when i bought 25 acres of woods across the road from my house in howard county. i bought it as ag land and it had always been ag land. my taxes went from $280 a year to around $800 I think. i went to county building and asked why, they said since it was across trhe road and i actually owned to the middle of the road on both property's it would now be excess residential to go with the 5 acres of rural residential i already owned. i filed an appeal, told them i was gonna harvest trees and plant new trees they said no problem and changed it back to ag like it had been since the original land patent was granted in 1849 by z. taylor. they acted like they wanted more tax money but if i was gonna make a stink over it and file appeals it would be easier to just change it back.

 

[Bennettjh]

Just the government digging deeper into your pocket and lying about it as they go.

this happened to me in 2008 when i bought 25 acres of woods across the road from my house in howard county. i bought it as ag land and it had always been ag land. my taxes went from $280 a year to around $800 I think. i went to county building and asked why, they said since it was across trhe road and i actually owned to the middle of the road on both property's it would now be excess residential to go with the 5 acres of rural residential i already owned. i filed an appeal, told them i was gonna harvest trees and plant new trees they said no problem and changed it back to ag like it had been since the original land patent was granted in 1849 by z. taylor. they acted like they wanted more tax money but if i was gonna make a stink over it and file appeals it would be easier to just change it back.

Glad it worked out.

 

[wabashman]

Mine was changed from an to residential this year in Miami county. Tried claiming it as a tree farm as well and they basically said to pound sand. So stuck at residential until I figure something else out.

 

[winchester]

Mine was changed from an to residential this year in Miami county. Tried claiming it as a tree farm as well and they basically said to pound sand. So stuck at residential until I figure something else out.

did you file an appeal?

 

[mom45]

Mine was changed from an to residential this year in Miami county. Tried claiming it as a tree farm as well and they basically said to pound sand. So stuck at residential until I figure something else out.

Did you appeal to the PTABOA or just argue it with someone in the assessor's office? It seems that anyone here who appeals and shows up for the meetings is granted what they ask for.

 

[CathyInBlue]

Did you appeal to the PTABOA or just argue it with someone in the assessor's office? It seems that anyone here who appeals and shows up for the meetings is granted what they ask for.

I got what I asked for. Surprised the Hell outta me.

 

[rambone]

 

[Rocketscientist]

Thank you! Yeah I'm really getting tired of being endlessly and increasingly penalized for being successful.

 

[ModernGunner]

Property / land taxes is one of those things that need to be minimalized. Home / property owners really should be hammering their respective politicians on the issue.

 

[tenring]

DNR: Forest Legacy


https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ID/ID-231.pdf

 

[Loco179]

My county has been trying to reassess me for 2 years now. They have caused me to file 2 appeals. The second appeal I had to show up to a "board". They also scheduled about 20 other people at my time. I had to wait about 3 hours for the privilege for them to hear my appeal. I brought comps from 12 different property's that were twice the size of my house. They had trouble understanding market value. Eventually, out of the 40 THOUSAND they tried to raise my taxable value, they only raised it 3 thousand. I did mention a state appeal and since they were under the burden of proof. They way backed off. They were arseholes. This is in Morgan County by the way.

 

[wabashman]

Did you appeal to the PTABOA or just argue it with someone in the assessor's office? It seems that anyone here who appeals and shows up for the meetings is granted what they ask for.

Sorry for the delay in reply. I failed to check my emails this morning....but as of now, I just argued with the lady in the assessor's office. I'll have to look into the method of filing an appeal for Miami County. I live in the middle of no-where in a woods surrounded by fields, so there is no real reason I should be classified as residential land. If I lived in the city, or a subdivision, then OK I would agree with the re-classification.