June 27, 2008 –Those who own property on St. John, have filed a formal appeal with the V.I. Board of Tax Review and have had no action from the board are being urged to contact the St. John Unity Day Group's Property Tax Committee.
"You must have documentation," said Myrtle Barry, who co-chairs the group's Property Tax Committee.
Barry said she needs to have the information in hand by 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The board will use such data in a presentation Wednesday in U.S. District Count as part of the ongoing effort to resolve the Berne property tax suit. Barry said the Unity Day Group thinks that St. John data is missing from Board's records.
"They will discuss the backlog, the current status and how they're going to address it," Barry said.
Once that backlog is addressed, the court must ensure that any refunds due property tax payers who successfully appealed their tax bills are paid, Barry said.
The Berne suit, filed by commercial property owners, resulted in the revaluation of all real property across the territory.
The Unity Day Group has a suit pending in District Court because St. John residents were hit especially hard with the revaluations. The suit asks that the Tax Assessor's Office start over with its property revaluation process and not assess or collect taxes until the situation is resolved. The suit requests temporary and injunctive relief.
Barry stressed that the information the Unity Day Group needs does not concern the revaluation appeals requested by residents who thought their properties were incorrectly valued. In those instances, the Tax Assessor's Office sent people out to properties to re-measure and reconsider the property's attributes.
She also indicated that if a board appeal has been addressed or is now being addressed there is no need to provide information to the Unity Day Group.
Property tax payers should drop their documentation at Barry's office at E&C Gas Station on Route 108 or fax it to Barry at 693-3349.
Back Talk
Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
