Assessor Warns Of Higher Taxes On Used Cars, Wants Resident Action

Personal Prefaces:

1. I extend my condolences to those affected by this morning's violent storms that have killed at least three people in Washington County, Ark., and at least three more in Dent and Phelps counties in Missouri. My thoughts and prayers are with friends who are in the impacted areas.
2. I relay the following report with full disclosure of my status as a tax-paying resident of Clay County, Missouri, and owner of a used car which may be impacted.

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Clay County residents have received a letter along with their personal property statements, warning them of higher taxes if they don't petition Jefferson City.

In a call-to-action (transcribed below), assessor Cathy Rinehart warns that many will see the value of their used car increase when their tax bills arrive in April. She writes that it's because state statute requires her and the state's assessors to use values from the October issue of the NADA's Used Car Guide.

The rise, she adds, is from fewer new cars being manufactures, thus increasing the resale value of used cars.

Rinehart suggests that residents write to lawmakers in Jefferson City, asking that assessments instead come from the Kelley Blue Book or be based on the vehicle's weight.

Missouri residents have until March 1 to submit their updated personal property lists or incur a late penalty.

The entirety of her letter (formatting & misspellings inclusive) is transcribed below:

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Jan 1, 2011

Dear Citizens of Clay County,

There is an issue I would like to bring to your attention. All assessors of Missouri are required to use the October NADA to place values on vehicles. [Statue137.115 (9.) The assessor of each county and each city not within a county shall use the trade-in value published in the October issue of the National Automobile Dealers' Official Used Car Guide,]

In 2011, NADA has increased the value of sevewral vehicle models. In April some of you will be receiving an increase value change notice on your vehicle. This is because fewer new cars were manufactured, and used cars are now worth more.

Because I must use NADA trade-in value I believe the taxpayers are entitled to advanced notification. I believe it is my sworn duty to you, as your assessor, to provide a means to correct this situation for everyone in Missouri. There are two solutions, both involving your help:

1. Change the law to read that the assessor "may" use the Kelly Blue Book for true market value. (Kelly Blue Book is used by car dealers through out the State. Kelly Blue Book historically represents a lower value than NADA.)
   
2. Change the Constitution of Missouri to have the DMV charge you by the weight of the vehicle. Thus eliminating personal property being valued by the assessment department. You would still pay personal property taxes but it would be based on weight vs. value

Your help is requested by contacting your newly elected State Representatives and Senator. Please, call, write, e-mail, snail mail, or talk to your State Representative. The law needs to be changed. Just like you got the law changed to waive penalties for a county error. (Thank you again for your help with that.)

For your convenience on the back of this letter, I have included State Representatives' contact information. Please, help me, help you. The only way we can get a different value guide is with your voice.

Also, to avoid any assessment penalties please fill out the 2011 assessment list and return it to the assessment department before March 1, 2011.

As always, it is an honor to be your assessor.

Sincerely:

Cathy Rinehart
My Motto: “I know who I work for, You, the citizens of Clay County.”

Relegate The Closed-Shop Leagues

Two bits of sporting news yesterday have got me concerned about the way professional leagues run in the U.S.

Yesterday morning, ace pitcher Zack Greinke jumped the perpetually sinking ship known as the Kansas City Royals, taking cash and Yuniesky Betancourt with him to Milwaukee in exchange for pitching prospect Jake Odorozzi, outfielder Lorenzo Cain, shortstop Alcides Escobar, and Jeremy Jeffress, a pitcher who's one doobie away from being banned for life. While it might prove beneficial for the Royals' youth movement, fans are naturally demure at the news, watching yet another bright star leave the bastion of malaise that's become Kauffman Stadium. Fortunately, those Royals fans were wearing red and more focused on their Chief neighbors, who defeated cross-state rivals St. Louis 27-13.

St. Louis fall to 6-8, assuring them of not having a winning season. And yet, because of losses by Seattle, San Francisco and Arizona today, they remain atop the NFC West division. It's very likely that the winner of this division, who could very well host the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints in the first round of the playoffs, will finish the season with a 7-9 record. Meanwhile, as many as two NFC teams could go 10-6 and not make the playoffs, because of the lopsided strength of the other three divisions in the NFC.

And next year (barring a much-hyped players' lockout) the same 16 teams will compete again in arbitrarily defined divisions to determine who gets to play the AFC winners in the Super Bowl. It's lop-sided competition that only rewards the 32 owners who keep the closed-shop system in operation, usually at the expense of football's fans. It's a closed system that, frankly, runs contrary to the free market principles that many in America tout as being our paramount ideal.

How ironic that a better structure for organizing professional sporting teams be found commonplace in "socialist" nations.

It's time for American sport to embrace and incorporate promotion and relegation.

In baseball, the extensive farm system and independent, semi-pro leagues can serve as a launching pad for a successful multi-tiered system. And the inequity in the payroll and fortunes between baseball's current 30 teams provides a merciful reason to implement such a system.

As for football, it's a perfect tempest to explore the idea. 32 teams, none of which call Los Angeles, Portland, San Antonio, Las Vegas, Tulsa, Orlando, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, or Guadalajara home. None of which could be playing next season as the gaggle of 32 owners push for an expanded schedule without granting many concessions to their players, all the while pursuing generous tax breaks from state and local governments and charging $8 for a tray of stale nachos. Even if an owner's team goes 0-16, that owner can still sit comfy if the ink remains in the black, especially if the franchise is buoyed by, say, franchises in other sport or a multinational corporation that's their bread and butter. So what if half their roster winds up with permanent brain damage from repeated hits to the head, or they become the most hated entity in their metropolitan?

The current system doesn't put the owner at real risk. So long as they bring in the money and abide by league rules, they're practically safe in their luxury suite on the 50-yard line. On top of that, federal law explicitly grants the NFL, Major League Baseball, and other major sporting leagues exemptions from anti-trust laws in place to prevent monopolies from strangling the free market.

Promotion and relegation will force these owners to the front lines. If their teams don't regularly perform well, their investment is at risk. Americans like to cheer for winners, and if their team's not winning in the top league, their revenue goes down. Owners that regularly let their teams stagnate could easily wind up in bankruptcy court or with a mutiny on their hands, as fans and players flock to teams that will actually give a damn about playing competitively.

Future posts will detail how such a system can come into play for sporting leagues across the nation, from pro football and baseball to the collegiate and even high school.