Are them Texas folks over taxing Mikey?....
Dell Comp founder, cty clash over home appraisal
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 1 (Reuter) - Dell Computer Corp founder and Chairman Michael Dell and his wife are seeking court intervention to resolve their dispute with county authorities over the valuation of their house near Austin.
The Travis County appraisal district says the 33,000-square foot house on 60 acres of primeland west of Austin was worth $22.5 milion on January 1 and assessed a tax of about $600,000, the Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday.
Dell and his wife Susan say the property, which will be completed later this year, should be valued between $5.5 million and $6.5 million. That would reduce the tax to about $160,000.00. The couple has filed a petition in the Travis district court after losing a protest this summer to the county's three-member appraisal review board .
``I can assure you Mr. Dell wants to pay his fair share of whatever property taxes are owed,'' Pete Winstead, an attorney for the Dells, told the newspaper. ``But just because he's Michael Dell doesn't mean he should pay more than the market value of his house.''
Dell Computer is the second-largest private sector employer in Austin. Michael Dell's stock in his company is valued at more than $5.8 billion.
The newspaper said a key issue is whether the house should be appraised on what it cost to build it or its fair market value.
Another point of contention is how much of the house was completed on January 1. The Dells say 57 percent, and the district says 80 percent.
The average single-family home in Travis County is valued at $124,433, with a tax bill of $3,100.
Now let's say the average house in the town is 1500 square feet. Then we divide 33000 sq. ft. by 1500 and get 22, we then multiply 22 times $3100 (average tax bill)and get $68200. We should toss in some extra tax for the increased lot size...say double it, that gives us $136,400, now we could add another $60,000 for extras like concrete, pool and a few other goodies for a total of $196,400.
I'd say some type of adjustment is in order...or he could just demolish it and tell them to suck otter water. <G> |
