Reply #22: Mr. Snipes is in for income tax evasion -

[haele]

Property taxes, they just take your property and auction it off for the outstanding taxes if you don't "make the effort", not send you to jail. And I think there's a amount cutoff between "garnishment" or leinholding for back taxes(and the IRS could easily garnish his senate wages to pay for any back taxes without dragging it throught the courts) and the perp walk.

Of course, I don't know how the County treats lower income or "minority owner" lower income owners. But still, when you look at the worth of the condo and the owed taxes, there's no payment other than perhaps insurance on that property, and hasn't been for a long time. According to REO forclosure sites, most tax auctions nowdays start around $15K for very small houses or condos, which rather of indicate estate forclosures where there are no heirs or leins to pay the taxes.

The question I would have is why did they stop paying taxes? The Tax Assessor for the county mentioned in the article has been there since the early 90's at least - and his office has been computerized for at least just as long.
How could they suddenly "change" the mailing address for Mr. McCain in the past 5 years? I can't see where the "billing error" was on the County's Assessment board, especially since there's been no radical change in the financial or working status of either party, the owner's or the assessor's, since easily back to the time the property was purchased.

The average tax assessment for a home bought for $500K will be a little over $7K a year; figure around $1.5K per $100K spent. Prop 13, enacted back in the early 70's, ensured that unless any property had been re-assessed going through the county via sale, gifting, or some sort of upgrade measure, say, a property upgrade, lein, or mortgage refinance, the taxes don't go up. Four years ago, in 2003, the McCains or their trust managers stopped paying the property tax on a property Ms. McCain had purchased for a price that guarenteed a tax assesesment of $1745 a year - back in the at least the early/mid 90's. Even if they bought it at a 5 year mortgage, the taxes and insurance - and homeowner fees - will need to be paid through an account vehicle somehow.

BTW, they also have two residences in Coronado, a condo and one of the nice 1920's ear former officer's bungelows near the base that all the retired flag officers used to buy up in the 60's when Navy Housing had it's first upgrade in the County. (so I think the latter was probably his through his family)

Haele