There is a groundswell of Southern Nevadans who are irritated over property taxes they are being charged on land and second homes in Southern Utah. As property values decline and taxes increase, it appears that the people of the Silver State are being taken to the cleaners.

You see, we have discovered that full-time residents are granted a 45 percent primary residential exemption in Utah while the rest of us pay the full rate – and more.The entire scenario hardly sounds fair and in fact, seems downright unconstitutional especially considering the dedication of Southern Nevadans who have brought boatloads of money into Utah buying property. Silver State types (not to mention anyone else who is a part-time resident of Southern Utah) have felt for years that they’re getting gouged by property taxes.

Some protested their high tax assessments and many won. However, key is the fact that most Southern Nevadans don’t have time to wage a battle. With meetings usually conducted during the middle of the week, few have been able to find time.

One man who did fight won twice. Interestingly, his neighbor with the same size lot and similar size cabin is paying much more primarily because he could not find time to dispute the taxes.

The squeaky wheel generally gets the grease in Southern Utah. I discovered that when I disputed a $2,000 fee charged to hook up my power. After taking the dispute to the Utah Public Service Commission, I won unanimously and the judge ordered Garkane Energy to send back my two grand.

It was a victory, for sure, but it was a hassle getting to the finish line. Most thought I would lose and I found great self satisfaction in knowing that there indeed was justice in the system.

But I’m really starting to get discouraged now especially since I discovered the most recent tax setup. In fact, I’m thinking about having a sign mounted on the southern tip of Utah saying “Attention Nevadans: You just got stung by the Beehive State.”

Even though Southern Nevadans probably comprise a great percentage of the land owners in Southern Utah, they undoubtedly use the services the least while paying the most. The entire setup hardly seems equitable especially considering that Southern Nevadans undoubtedly comprise a great percentage of land and cabin owners in Southern Utah.

Southern Utah has become the great getaway for many of us although many are undoubtedly starting to wonder if the investment was worth the heartache. In fact, several of the Southern Nevada-types are actually talking about a class action lawsuit against the state of Utah.

When you consider that at least 90 percent of the land owners on Cedar Mountain are from Las Vegas, it probably wouldn’t take long to fund an attorney especially considering many of the folks from Vegas have been known to have a buck or two. Add to all of these the sneakiness of how the tax structure was handled and I foresee a major revolt on behalf of out of state land owners who are suddenly discovering that they’re paying full bore while others are paying far less.    

 In reaching out to people who know more than I do about offsetting the high taxes, we have come up with solutions to the deficit ranging from turning our place into everything from a bed and breakfast to a bordello. Our informal focus groups have been interesting, to say the least.

Former Las Vegas resident George Vasconi who now lives in Parowan advises that we could all file for permanent residency before the next elections and vote everyone out of office. Call it a true example of a hostile takeover.

Vasconi pointed said he discovered his taxes would be double if he was a part-time resident. He immediately switched to full-time residency saving thousands of dollars.

We have all learned that Sept. 15 is the deadline for filing valuation appeals to the Board of Equalization. You can bet there will be a flood of protests filed this year and in fact, I’m hearing that Southern Nevadans are planning their own Tea Party gathering much like the one which invaded Searchlight, Nev. several weeks ago.

Stay tuned. This is going to get very interesting.

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