Property tax appeals steady from last year
With three days left until the filing deadline, property assessment appeals filed so far with the city are running about the same as last year, a city official said.
Gary Kurokawa, Real Property Assessment Division administrator, said about 2,800 appeals had been filed, compared with 2,100 at this time last year.
"Right now our general feeling is that it's pretty much status quo, like last year. We don't see any big surge, and we don't see any less," Kurokawa said. "I think the public knows that values have been increasing, so it's not a surprise to people. People just don't like it."
Because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, property owners have until 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to hand-deliver appeals to the Real Property Assessment Division offices in the basement of 842 Bethel St. in downtown Honolulu or at Room 206 at Kapolei Hale, 1000 Uluohia St. Appeals can also be mailed but must be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service by midnight Tuesday. There is a $25 fee to file an appeal.
Board of Review appeal forms were included in assessment notices mailed to property owners last month, and can also be obtained at property assessment offices, satellite city halls or online at www.honolulu.gov/rpa.
Kurokawa said more than half of the appeals come by mail and arrive either on the deadline or a day or two later.
"When we come back from that three-day weekend, the mail should be heavy," Kurokawa said. "So the 16th, 17th and 18th, we'll be receiving the bulk of the appeals."
Last year, about 6,000 were filed.
Kurokawa said one reason appeals might be steady is because even though values have increased, some measures have been put into place to help lessen the blow, such as doubling the homeowner exemption, lowering the residential tax rate and a $200 tax credit.
"So the impact becomes not as severe, and this year there's a lot of time before the rates are set, and the Council and the administration will be looking at tax relief measures. So it's not the endgame right now," Kurokawa said.