SB1316: Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey's Crooked Greenbelt Bill For Campaign Donor

[doeriver]

Run time: 02:46 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qd8tiSi17o   Posted on YouTube: April 16, 2011 By YouTube Member: wataugariver Views on YouTube: 2   Posted on DU: April 16, 2011 By DU Member: doeriver Views on DU: 1153

 
Fair Use: WJHL (Johnson City) reporting on how the SB1316 legislation filed on February 16, 2011 within the Tennessee Senate by TNGA Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey will extend specialized property tax reductions for a Bristol (Northeast Tennessee) campaign donor and car dealer who purchased a large tract of "Greenbelt" land within Rutherford County (Middle Tennessee).

See more at : Bill Gatton, Rutherford County property assessor wrangle over taxes
http://www2.tricities.com/news/2011/apr/15/bill-gatton-rutherford-county-property-70640-vi-26174/

TNGA Bill Information for SB1316
http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=SB1316&ga=107

[doeriver]

1. Lt. Gov. Ramsey, wife had claimed Greenbelt property tax relief for Sullivan County property

Lt. Gov. Ramsey, wife had claimed Greenbelt property tax relief for growing grass on large Sullivan County property...


Lt. Gov Ron Ramsey sold the USPS his Bluff City land via the "Washington Way" (Ramsey "Greenbelt" on video @2:20)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6ohEb8Jufk

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2. knoxnews.com: Ramsey Seeks to Reduce Friend's Property Taxes

knoxnews.com: Ramsey Seeks to Reduce Friend's Property Taxes
http://blogs.knoxnews.com/humphrey/2011/04/ramsey-seeks-to-reduce-friends.html

Posted by Tom Humphrey on April 10, 2011 at 8:03 PM

A developer with 187 acres of vacant land off Medical Center Parkway (in Murfreesboro) would get a $273,058 tax break if proposed legislation by Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey were the law today, says the Daily News Journal.

Ramsey's bill would cap appraisal increases on vacant land at 25 percent -- an idea that doesn't sit well with either (Rutherford) County Mayor Ernest Burgess or Property Assessor Bill Boner.

"It's not fair," Boner said. "I'm not against a rich man making millions, but he still has to pay his fair share of taxes. ... If they pass this law, it's not going to be good to anybody. It's going to cost the county billions in assessed value.

It will be millions in tax dollars. "Somebody is going to make up the difference."

Ramsey, an East Tennessee Republican, said he came up with the idea after learning his friend and constituent C.M. Gatton of Bristol faces the higher tax bill based on land in Murfreesboro he owns that was recently reappraised at about $30 million by Boner.

...If Boner's value remains in place, Gatton faces an annual tax bill of about $282,758 for both commercial and residential land. That's in addition to city taxes owed on the property.

(...more at hyperlink above)

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3. The Daily News Journal Editorial: Lt. Gov.'s tax break bill unfair to county

Editorial: Lt. Gov.'s tax break bill unfair to county
http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011104140314

12:00 AM, Apr. 14, 2011

A special favor from Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey to a Murfreesboro landowner could cost Rutherford County millions in tax dollars.

Ramsey has proposed a bill to cap appraisal increases osn vacant land at 25 percent.

The legislation would help his friend and constituent C.M. Gatton of Bristol, who donated $5,000 in June 2009 to Ramsey's unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2010.

We believe in fair taxation, and the lieutenant governor shouldn't try to change state law just because he thinks his buddy will have to pay too much in taxes. The rest of the Legislature should stop this nonsense.

Back in 2004, Gatton invested his money wisely when he bought 318 acres of what was Rutherford County farmland for $16.2 million, according to assessor's records.

That farmland became Murfreesboro's fast-growing Gateway area. Gatton sold 99.4 acres of his land in July 2006 for $24.5 million for The Avenue shopping center.

But Gatton still owns 187 acres in the area, which has held greenbelt-tax break status. This zoning is designed to give farmers a break, taxing them only on the land's value for use.

However, Gatton's Gateway-area property shows no signs of farming, and just last week, the Murfreesboro's Planning Commission reviewed a plan to erect decorative light poles along Robert Rose Drive, right through Gatton's land. Also last week, sewer and road work for Robert Rose Drive was being developed and electrical work was taking place there, according to Rutherford County's Property Assessor Bill Boner.

Taking all this into account and based on the advice of state officials with the comptroller's office, Boner did the logical thing and pulled Gatton's land off greenbelt status.

Under greenbelt status, Gatton would have had to pay $1,928 in taxes on the property based on a $312,893 land use value. Without greenbelt zoning, he would have to pay $282,758 annually on land valued at $30 million.

Gatton is appealing the $30 million reappraisal, arguing the acreage should be appraised at $13.4 million.

But Ramsey, who admitted he came up with the idea for the bill after learning about Gatton's situation, wants to help his friend even more. Under his proposed legislation, the reappraisal would only raise the value of Gatton's land to $1.6 million, resulting in an annual tax bill of $9,701.

"It's not fair," Boner told The Daily News Journal. "I'm not against a rich man making millions, but he still has to pay his fair share of taxes. ... If they pass this law, it's not going to be good to anybody. It's going to cost the county billions in assessed value. It will be millions in tax dollars.

"Somebody is going to make up the difference."

And that "somebody," Boner refers to, is the rest of us taxpayers.

More than lost revenue, this bill is just plain wrong and an abuse of office by the lieutenant governor. It is a favor for a friend that could have far-reaching effects on our county's strained coffers as well as those of others.

Ramsey's legislation has not moved through the General Assembly's committee process, and we hope it never does.

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4. Rutherford County stands to lose 'millions in tax dollars' Officials lash out at Lt. Gov.'s giveaway

County stands to lose 'millions in tax dollars'
Officials lash out at Lt. Gov.'s proposed cap
http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011104100321

3:36 AM, Apr. 10, 2011

MURFREESBORO — A developer with 187 acres of vacant land off Medical Center Parkway would get a $273,058 tax break if proposed legislation by Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey were the law today.

Ramsey's bill would cap appraisal increases on vacant land at 25 percent — an idea that doesn't sit well with either County Mayor Ernest Burgess or Property Assessor Bill Boner.

"It's not fair," Boner said. "I'm not against a rich man making millions, but he still has to pay his fair share of taxes. ... If they pass this law, it's not going to be good to anybody. It's going to cost the county billions in assessed value. It will be millions in tax dollars.

"Somebody is going to make up the difference."

Ramsey, an East Tennessee Republican, said he came up with the idea after learning his friend and constituent C.M. Gatton of Bristol faces the higher tax bill based on land in Murfreesboro he owns that was recently reappraised at about $30 million by Boner.

Gatton purchased a total of 318 acres of what was farmland for $16.2 million in 2004 in the city's fast-growing Gateway area off Interstate 24, according to the assessor's records. He helped spark much of the retail, restaurant and hotel growth here when he sold 99.4 acres for $24.5 million in July 2006 for The Avenue shopping center.

The value of the 187 acres in question was placed at $1.3 million based on an appraisal in 2006, prior to Boner's election to the property assessor's office. Gatton only had to pay taxes on about $312,893 of that, though, because of the property's greenbelt status.

In reappraising the remaining acreage, however, Boner increased the value to about $30 million based on the value of land around it and removed the property from greenbelt status, a tax bracket reserved for farmland.

(...more ay hyperlink)