Would you be outraged if the IRS decided to keep your tax refund because if they didn’t, they might have to cut services?
After a combined 70-plus years of living and working in the valley, my wife and I made the difficult decision to sell our mixed-use property in Basalt. A major factor in our decision was the large carrying costs (of which property taxes were by far the largest component). Through the newspaper we found out that Basalt had overcharged property taxpayers for many years.
Apparently, Basalt is deciding whether to refund the overpayments or keep them. Not refunding the overpayments is a retroactive tax increase. Whether the decision is made by government or the voters, taxes should never be raised retroactively.
The only fair thing for Basalt to do is refund the property tax overpayments. Period.
Ned Collum
Naples, Florida