At the end of the Arkansas legislative fiscal session which wrapped up recently, a bill was passed to help ease the burden on tax payers due to escalating values of used cars, but county assessors in the state are dealing with a lot of questions they can’t answer at this point. The bill was passed after residents in Arkansas had already started assessing for 2022 and now counties across the state will have to wait until at least August to be able to make adjustments. There will will also be an extra cost incurred by each county to have software updated for the changes.
House bill 1028, sponsored by State Representatives Jack Fortner of Yellville and Jeff Wardlaw of Hermitage, became law as Act 192. Fortner says he and Wardlaw wanted to do something to help tax payers whose used cars have been appreciating instead of depreciating the last couple of years.
Listen:
Fortner explains how the law works.
Listen:
Baxter County Assessor Jayme Nicholson says while the new law is good for tax payers, it is creating difficulty for assessors offices across the state because so many residents have already assessed for 2022 and now those assessments will have to be changed. This is not something that is done locally.
Listen:
Nicholson provides clarification on the assessment situation for cars 2020 and older.
Listen:
With the software company having to make changes to the program, each county in the state will be faced with paying for the updates.
Listen:
The Baxter County Assessor says it will be a while before they have answers about how much of a difference it will make for tax payers.
Listen:
The deadline to assess property in Arkansas without a penalty is May 31.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI