Facing large budget cuts as a result of tax relief proposals in Tallahassee,
Palm Beach County commissioners said today that the property appraisers'
office should be doing more to stamp out homestead-exemption fraud. The
commission agreed to send a letter to Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits
asking him to beef up efforts to catch residents who illegally claim the
$25,000 exemption. Commissioners Burt Aaronson, who called for the letter,
pointing to a May 6 Palm Beach Post article that reported efforts to catch
cheats in Palm Beach County have resulted in just 43 cases since 2004.
Investigators have collected less than $325,000 in lost tax revenue,
penalties and interest. All property owners who reside in their homes as of
Jan. 1 are entitled to a $25,000 reduction in the property's assessed value.
The exemption also prevents the assessed value from increasing by more than
3 percent each year. The assessment cap, called Save Our Homes, has saved
many homeowners thousands of dollars each year on their property-tax bills
as property values skyrocked. But it has also made it more lucrative to
cheat. Nikolits has said his office doesn't have to be as aggressive as
other counties because the majority of illegal exemptions are caught before
the designation is granted.
Posted by Donald Urschalitz P.A. at June 13, 2007 01:53 AM
