The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A well-known appraiser has received “zero response” to his property valuation services offer, saying this had been motivated after the real property tax bill for one of his businesses “doubled”.

Wilshire Bethell, who is also chairman of the Town Planning Committee, told Tribune Business he had been “somewhat surprised” at the non-existent public reaction, given the numerous complaints about real property tax bill increases of up to 200-500 per cent.

He suggested this showed that Bahamians, and residents, were either “simply accepting” the valuations determined by the Government’s Property Tax Department, or were happy with the bills they were receiving.

Speaking about the prominent newspaper advertisements he has placed in recent weeks, Mr Bethell told Tribune Business: “The reason I put it out, to be honest with you, is I have a shop in Sandyport and believe it is being substantially overvalued.

“I purchased a home in the US in 2004, paid over $500,000 for it, and by 2011 the value was down to $480,000.

“Similarly, the shop in Sandyport. I’ve been trying to sell it for what I paid for it in 2004, and can’t get any interest. Yet the property tax valuation we are being charged is double what it would have been when I paid for it. That sensitised me to the fact there could be a number of other persons” facing the same issue.

The appraiser added that, apart from “choice pieces of property or property with special characteristics”, there had been little change in real estate values from 2008-2009.

This meant the dramatic increases in real property tax bills for some were unlikely to be justified by current market value, and “in some cases the bottom has dropped out”.

Mr Bethell said his advertisement campaign aimed to educate persons on how they could challenge the real property tax assessments, and bills, handed to them by the Government.

“What I am trying to do in the advertisement is sensitise the public that because the Government gives you an assessment, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to blindly accept it.

“If you believe your property is overvalued, you have an option, which is to challenge it. But you can’t just go into their office and say you disagree with it. You’ve got to come prepared with sufficient evidence to back up your claim.”

Such evidence would include a full appraisal analysis of the subject property’s true market worth by a duly licensed appraiser.

“What I’ve been advised is that a lot of persons have got adjustments to real property tax bills, but by the same token no current estimate has been taken to determine its true value.”

Pointing out that property values could be impacted negatively, or positively, by adjustments to homes, Mr Bethell said there had been limited response to the advertisements he ran both this month and last year.

“The truth of the matter really is no,” he said, when asked by Tribune Business whether the campaign had generated appraisal business for him.

“I find that somewhat surprising. I have heard a lot of complaints, but I didn’t get a response,” Mr Bethell added.

“I’m surprised there has been a zero response, which means we have either a public that simply accepts, or is satisfied.”

He told Tribune Business that, unrelated to his advertisements, several persons had approached him within the past year to query the increases in their real property tax bills.

“I’ve been able to take an initial look at it, and say from all appearances it could be a good cas,” Mr Bethell said. “In a couple of cases, I said that based on the value given it seems fair, and in one case, exceptionally fair.”

Tribune Business late last year reported concerns that the Bahamian middle class was being “taxed into oblivion” by real property tax bill increases of between 200-500 per cent.

Christopher Armaly, a realtor and appraiser with Morley Realty, told Tribune Business then that the huge rises seen over the past three years threatened to further depress the housing market, plus residential and commercial income-earning properties, along with associated industries such as construction and home furnishings.

Arguing that “you can’t get blood from a stone”, Mr Armaly said then that while he agreed with the Government’s objectives and targeting of real property tax as an underperforming revenue segment, its approach was totally wrong.

He told Tribune Business that the Real Property Tax Department was focusing on homeowners and residential/commercial landlords who were already paying, rather than going after ‘bill duckers’ or properties either undervalued or not on the roll.

Such an approach, Mr Armaly argued, was counterproductive in that the huge increases would disincentivise compliant taxpayers from continuing to pay. And the Government would earn less revenue.