Passage of the "Jobs Bill"; Residential Property Tax Impacts » April 2011

Source: Arizona REALTOR® Magazine - April 2011
Article by: Nicole LaSlavic, Arizona Association of REALTORS® (AAR) Government Affairs Director
   
This Article provides insight into how the new "Jobs Bill" (signed into law by Governor Brewer on February 17, 2011) will be affecting homeowners pocketbooks.  Ms. LaSlavic notes that, "Currently, many homeowners are unaware that their residential property taxes are lowered by a payment made from the State General Fund directly to the county in which the property is located.  This payment is paid to residential properties in Class Three of the property tax code. Class Three properties include owner-occupied primary residences and second/vacation homes."  Under the new law, homeowners will be required "to go through the cumbersome process of signing an affidavit beginning in 2012 and subsequent even-numbered years, under penalty of perjury, that they are living in the home or that the home is being leased or rented to a relative. The affidavit will be mailed along with the annual Notice of Full Cash Value sent to owners of Class Three Property. The forms must be completed and returned to the County Assessor within 60 days or the residential property will be reclassified as Class Four and the property taxes will go up as much as $600 depending on the home’s value. The problem with the affidavit is that it treats the property as a rental until the homeowner can prove otherwise."

Although owners of second or vacation homes currently receive the homeowner's rebate, they would be disqualified from receiving it under the new law.

Passage of the "Jobs Bill"; Residential Property Tax Impacts » April 2011