“[To appeal your assessment you will need to do some research and possibly hire an appraiser, but you do not need a lawyer. The appeal process is set up for individuals. It is not a court of law.] You can determine whether you have a case in the space of an afternoon, ... And your chances for success are pretty good; I'd say as much as 50 percent.”
“What homeowners often don't know or realize is that this process is a subjective one. Essentially, your assessment is one person's opinion about the value of your house.”
“[Outside opposition is another concern. Many privacy groups and other advocacy groups worry about the impact this trend could have on citizens.] Revenue departments have many, many more sweeping powers than any other agency or private collections firm would have under fair debt collection laws, ... So now what you'll have is revenue agents who are used to using those broad powers going after people who owe court fines or student loans. Some people might think this is great, but if you start unleashing the power of the government on those people, they might actually begin to chafe at such practices. I don't think it's a good idea.”
“There is, however, one excellent advantage for taxpayers: predictability, ... There is only one up-front contribution, which is a match with the employee contribution, and no fluctuations.”
