Property Tax Lawyers in Santa Monica
In Santa Monica, California, the government imposes a tax (a legally-mandated payment made to the government) on real property. "Real property" is defined as any piece of land, or object permanently or semi-permanently affixed to the land (such as buildings, trees, minerals, etc.).
In Santa Monica, California, property taxes are measured as a percentage of the land's value. They are most often paid annually. But in any case, they are paid at some set interval.
The federal government almost never imposes property taxes directly. Property taxes are collected nearly exclusively by state, county, and local governments.
How Property Tax is Calculated in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California property taxes are usually calculated as a percentage of the value of the taxable property. Rates vary widely across the country, usually ranging from less than 1% at the low end, to about 5% at the high end.
To collect the property tax in a fair and consistent manner, Santa Monica, California tax authorities need to have an objective formula for determining the value of land under its jurisdiction.
Value, in some ways, is not an objective thing. For example, your childhood home is probably worth much more to you than its simple market value. However, the tax authorities use only objective factors in calculating a home's taxable value.
There are many different ways to value property using objective factors. Generally, the appraiser in Santa Monica, California will consider the current state of the real estate market, the size of the property, any improvements (buildings, roads, etc.) that have been made on the property, and the manner in which the property may be legally used (zoning).
How A Santa Monica, California Property Tax Attorney Can Help.
The system of levying property taxes in Santa Monica, California can get fairly complex. Disputes about property taxes, between the taxpayer and the tax authorities, can come up in several different ways. A taxpayer may believe that an error was made in calculating their property's taxable value, resulting in bigger tax bill. Also, the state or city government might allege that you have failed to pay your property taxes, while you believe that you have.
If you are involved in a property tax dispute with the tax authorities of Santa Monica, California, you should seek the advice of a Santa Monica, California tax attorney. Your attorney can help you prevent a small tax problem from turning into something much bigger and more expensive than it needs to be.
There is none better than Joel. He is intelligent and sensitive when it comes to highly personal matters. Let him fight your battle!
He is the kind of lawyer who would sit down and explain things on how things works in legal matter but he is still fighting for me hard and he is very patient and very understanding with me being deaf and we have not got the results yet but he is trying very hard during week and weekends on getting results real fast and he don't take no bull from other companies and I would advice people to use him as your lawyer
Joel is very professional and I would recommend him for anyone.
This lawyer shows real commentment to his cases
This guy is awesome. The best of the best.
Mr. C. has been responsive, he's explained everything clearly and has asked questions that I had not thought of. He's not like the typical laywer profile - he's courteous and very patient with me. I would easily recommend him. I'm going to assume his service is a good value for my money although we're not at that stage yet.
Mr.C. is a excellent lawyer he always kept us well informed on the case, I am very satisfied with the work that he has done and I am sure that anyother person who were to hire him will be too. Also he took the time and patience to talk to me personally after all the work he had. I would strongly recommend him. Very very good.
I had a great experience with this lawyer. I highly recommend him to anyone. Emails and phone calls were returned promptly. My questions were answered with a clear understanding. If he did not know the answer he would research it and get back to me quickly. I believe he worked very hard to gather the information we needed for the case. If i ever need another lawyer in the future, i will definitely hire him again.
Joel kept in constant contact with me. I really liked that about him. Most lawyers dont even talk to you, they have their secretary take a message. Joel did not once do that. Joel believed in me and my case. I would recommend him to anyone and use him again if I ever have to do this again. He cares about the situation and had my best interest at heart.
Joel had excellent response time, he spent time with me on the telephone discussing possibility's of my case. I highly recommend Joel, he was very easy to talk to and spoke to me in layman's terms so I could understand what was going on, he sent me numerous e-mails in regards to my case. He was willing to go the extra mile for me and that was something very special.
He was great and very easy to work with. I would definately use and/or refer him again.
I was very pleased with the Mr. C.'s response. As much as I deeply appreciated the time he took in looking over the information, I decided it was best not to pursue the issue. He was very kind and I will most defintely keep his name should I ever need assistance in the future.