I moved to Cochise County to retire and build a new home that would fit my needs. Demolition of the old structures and building the new home led to property tax valuation changes.
The Cochise County Tax Assessors Office could not explain the assessment process and became completely unresponsive. Cochise County's refusal to provide explanations to their unsupported conclusions led me on a mission to find out why they were so elusive.
- If the property is making a profit, a tax return will be filed with the IRS.
- If the property is not making profit, no tax return will be filed with the IRS.
- Method of assessment: ARS 42-1051: requires the use of a tax return to perform the assessment.
- The assessment is required to classify the property into the various taxable categories.
- The assessment is never done on your home. So, the next step is where the crime begins.
- Your home is automatically placed in a taxable category called residential.
Here’s the first kicker folks: everyone thinks they live in residential property. In reality the private man/woman owns private property.
Here’s the second: the government can call it anything they want…they can call it Disneyland, it does not matter. No income, no return to file, no evidence of right or power to tax.
They want you to believe that the tax is a percentage of the value of your home. This is entirely wrong.
Taxes are Enumerated in the US Constitution
- Duty tax: a duty is a form of taxation levied on certain goods, services, or other transactions that are imported and exported.
- Impost tax: something imposed or levied; a tonnage fee levied on ships entering harbor was a kind of impost, but a tonnage fee levied on ships leaving harbor was not. An impost designed to raise money was a form of indirect tax.
- Exise tax: excise taxes are taxes required on specific goods or services like fuel, tobacco, and alcohol.
- They are primarily taxes that must be paid by businesses, usually increasing prices for consumers indirectly.
- Excise taxes can be ad valorem (paid by percentage) or specific (cost charged by unit).
- The states cannot impose Duty or Impost taxes without permission from congress.
- Collectively, Duties, Imposts, and Excise taxes are indirect taxes.
- The only tax remaining for the states to levy is excise tax. No matter what you are charged at the MVD, court fines, property taxes, or other fees it is an excise tax, or transaction privilege tax.
Conclusion
- We know we own private property.
- We know through ARS 42-1051 a return is required by law.
- We know we have not filed a return indicating our home has made a profit.
- We know: no profit, no tax.
- We know the assessor could not have completed the assessment as required by law.
- We know the assessor requires the assessment to classify the property.
- We know the property has been placed in a taxable classification (residential) for financial gain.
- We know the legal framework necessary to be liable for a tax does not exist.
- By their own standards they must keep a work file of the documentation used to determine the taxable activity.
I will explain in another session how tax liens are conducted.