Guam – The re-valuation of the island’s property values has begun.
The Governor last Friday signed a $2.5 million dollar contract with Cornerstone evaluation.
It has been more than 20 years since the last appraisal of taxable properties on island. Property values have increased significantly in the past two-decades. But Rev and Tax has only been able to collect on values set back in the early 90’s. And, as a number of audits have shown, GovGuam has lost millions in potential revenue over the years.
But now, Rev and Tax Director John Camacho says work on the new assessment has begun. And the goal, he said, is to have the revised assessments in the mail by September first. Your new property tax bill should be in hand by November.
Real property taxes are linked to the Territorial Education Facilities Fund. And the expected increase in revenue from the re-valuation will directly benefit the Department of Education.
READ the release from the Governor’s Office below:
Real Property Revaluation to Increase Education Funding
“We’re confident that property values have increased significantly since the last real property appraisal for Guam was done more than 20 years ago. We’ve always considered the benefits of re-evaluating the government’s real property taxes as a way to increase the revenue stream for the Territorial Education Facilities Fund. Re-evaluating revenue sources gives us an important opportunity to modernize critical data systems that can help ensure government is operating at its maximum potential.” – Governor Eddie Baza Calvo
Real property revaluation and reappraisal to increase TEFF funding
Cornerstone Valuation Guam has been contracted by the government of Guam to perform a mass revaluation and reappraisal of all real property. Real property taxes are directly linked to the Territorial Education Facilities Fund making this a major source of funding for the Guam Department of Education.
Real property appraisals have not been conducted since 1993. This means that current collections on real property taxes do not reflect true property values. Once the project is completed, more money is expected to be available for education through the TEFF.
“It’s clear that our real property tax structures are outdated. Just as government must be responsible for making good on its obligations, it must also be responsible for upgrading its operations, codes and tax structures. By updating our real property tax codes and conducting revaluations and appraisals, we may be able to increase education funding without significantly decreasing support for other essential government services,” said Governor Calvo.
Revaluation and reappraisal initiative will upgrade real property tax system
Utilizing the Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal system owned by the Department of Revenue and Taxation, a mass appraisal of all residential and commercial properties will be conducted along with a valuation of all tax-exempt properties. This will provide the data necessary to upgrade and update Guam’s real property tax systems, codes and collections.
This project is expected to be completed in three phases:
1. Mass appraisal of all taxable residential and commercial properties
2. Valuation of all tax-exempt properties, to include government and federally-owned lands
3. Support for appeals
The contractor expects to finalize the project by March, 2015.
