GRIFTER WATCH
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What an exciting start into February:
Jeanne Devon ("AKMuckraker") from the famous Mudflats blog in Alaska just disclosed on the air on the Shannyn Moore Show that Sarah and Todd Palin have been evading property taxes for years now for two of their properties. If the Palins had declared the value of the property correctly, they would have had to pay a substantial amount until today - which they didn't.
The property in question are two cabins in a remote area in Petersville, AK.
Despite of the fact that the two cabins are proper, large houses, the Palins "wisely" chose to declare the value of the cabins with $ 0,00 and only declared the land with a value of $ 30,000.
One of the "cabins" which the Palins have self-assessed
One of the "cabins" which the Palins have self-assessed
with a value of $ 0,00 for several years until now
(picture about 2 years old, according to Mudflats)
(picture about 2 years old, according to Mudflats)
Jeanne Devon on Mudflats explains the particulars of the case in a brilliant, carefully researched post and reveals more highly embarrassing details, including the fact that Sarah Palin in the past explicitly spoke out against the non-payment of property taxes and declined to support the candidate Vic Kohring in the past because he owed his borough $ 2,277 in unpaid property taxes.
This scandal came to light because an unknown person sent Jeanne Devon an ominous envelope with the general facts. Allow me to quote this letter:
Todd and Sarah are now millionaires, but they shirk their responsibility to pay local property taxes.
Attached are printed copies of Matanuska-Susitna Borough tax assessments from the public website (address shown at the bottom) regarding two lake frontage properties the Palins own in the Petersville Hills. Safari Lake is a gorgeous location, with stunning views of Mt. McKinley and the surrounding terrain.
Please note that two parcels total almost 20 acres and are assessed for a total value of $30,000. Also, there is a $0 value regarding any buildings on the property.
Any photos or visual inspection of the properties would clearly reveal that there are two large “cabins” on the property that are well built, and include thousands of dollars worth of improvements and amenities. The buildings are clearly nicer than many people’s homes.
Also on the property is a large shop for snowmachines and four-wheelers.
These buildings have been on the property for years now – yet the Palins have done nothing to correct the assessment.
Todd and Sarah are now millionaires, but they shirk their responsibility to pay local property taxes.
Attached are printed copies of Matanuska-Susitna Borough tax assessments from the public website (address shown at the bottom) regarding two lake frontage properties the Palins own in the Petersville Hills. Safari Lake is a gorgeous location, with stunning views of Mt. McKinley and the surrounding terrain.
Please note that two parcels total almost 20 acres and are assessed for a total value of $30,000. Also, there is a $0 value regarding any buildings on the property.
Any photos or visual inspection of the properties would clearly reveal that there are two large “cabins” on the property that are well built, and include thousands of dollars worth of improvements and amenities. The buildings are clearly nicer than many people’s homes.
Also on the property is a large shop for snowmachines and four-wheelers.
These buildings have been on the property for years now – yet the Palins have done nothing to correct the assessment.
I have managed to record the second part of the on-the-air conversation between Shannyn Moore and Jeanne Devon and will put it up here in a few minutes.
In addition, Jeanne Devon announced on the Shannyn Moore Show that she will post the story on Huffington Post. This scandal will go national!
Al Capone redux?
Now we finally know why Sarah Palin doesn't like "big government" - she rather keeps the money for herself! Is this supposed to be the "real America"?
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UPDATE:
The Mudflats-website has apparently crashed - but you can read the story on Huffington Post HERE!
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UPDATE 2:
The story is just a few hours old, but judging at the reaction at C4P, it seems that Sarah Palin's "general defence" is already apparent: It's all the "government's" fault! The Borough didn't assess Palin's property correctly, therefore the Palins are innocent! Move along, nothing to see here!
Could it be that the ex-Mayor and ex-Governor Sarah Palin has forgotten that citizen also have "actual responsibilities"?
Well, after about 5 minutes of research, we found the following explanation for the assessment of property taxes in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough (you have to click on "Your Rights and Responsibilities"):
WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES? If your opinion of the value of your property differs from the assessor’s, by all means go to the office and discuss the matter. Staff will be glad to answer your questions about the appraisal and explain how to appeal if you cannot come to an agreement. The assessor’s office relies on the property owner for information. You can help by providing accurate information.
Sarah Palin: It seems that the people from the Borough were not obliged to climb up the mountain to look at your property, which apparently doesn't even have proper road access - it seems that YOU were required to tell them that the two cabins are worth much, much more than $ 0,00!
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UPDATE 3:
In case you have missed Shannyn's radio show - I have good news for you!
I managed to record the second part of the conversation between Jeanne Devon and Shannyn Moore which happened a few hours earlier. I had to divide the conversation into two clips. It's essential to listen to the recording, because Jeanne and Shannyn give a lot more background information, and Jeanne explains in detail why the owners of these cabins have a responsibility to assess the property correctly themselves. Therefore, Sarah's possible "it's the governments fault" defence will not be successful.
Don't miss the interesting remark of Shannyn Moore right at the end of the second clip at 4:58! ;-)
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UPDATE 4:
Our reader "Older_Wiser" made an interesting discovery:
There's evidently precedent in AK for charging the proper taxes retroactively on property not even shown by the tax assessor, and for the taxpayer to properly list said property, as this post I borrowed from Mudflats shows:
"I haven’t been able to find any cases specifically about the Mat-Su borough but an Anchorage case held that the assessor could retroactively assess a warehouse addition as “escaped property” even though the assessor had assessed the other buildings but missed the addition. (Anchorage v. Alaska Distribs. Co., 725 P.2d 692 ).
"The court held “AS 29.45.110(a) and AS 29.45.180(a) also support our holding. AS 29.45.110(a) requires the assessor to assess property at its full and true value. AS 29.45.180(a) requires the taxpayer who receives an assessment notice to advise the assessor of errors or omissions in the assessment of property. These statutes emphasize the legislature’s policy of fairness to all taxpayers by insuring payment by each taxpayer of its fair share of taxes and by disallowing windfalls due to the tax [**10] assessor’s errors. ”
There's evidently precedent in AK for charging the proper taxes retroactively on property not even shown by the tax assessor, and for the taxpayer to properly list said property, as this post I borrowed from Mudflats shows:
"I haven’t been able to find any cases specifically about the Mat-Su borough but an Anchorage case held that the assessor could retroactively assess a warehouse addition as “escaped property” even though the assessor had assessed the other buildings but missed the addition. (Anchorage v. Alaska Distribs. Co., 725 P.2d 692 ).
"The court held “AS 29.45.110(a) and AS 29.45.180(a) also support our holding. AS 29.45.110(a) requires the assessor to assess property at its full and true value. AS 29.45.180(a) requires the taxpayer who receives an assessment notice to advise the assessor of errors or omissions in the assessment of property. These statutes emphasize the legislature’s policy of fairness to all taxpayers by insuring payment by each taxpayer of its fair share of taxes and by disallowing windfalls due to the tax [**10] assessor’s errors. ”
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UPDATE 5:
Here are the links to the assessments of Sarah and Todd Palin's properties which are in question here, as previously published on Mudflats:
http://www.matsugov.us/myproperty/detail.aspx?taxID=2357B04L012-1
http://www.matsugov.us/myproperty/detail.aspx?taxID=2357B04L010-1
The properties were assessed in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and each time the value of the buildings was assessed with $ 0,00. The picture of one of the "cabins" which we published above shows the state of the property about 2 years ago, according to Jeanne Devon from Mudflats.
(many thanks to sjkfromthebellyoftheplane!)
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