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This is a tough question. Who do you trust more, the government to be honest on reducing property taxes as values go down or the company that is charging a fee to help you appeal the same taxes?

The reason this came up is the Alameda County District Attorney is investigating two companies for providing a service that will appeal your property taxes for you. Now this same county has most of the homes in it on the tax rolls for much more than they are presently worth. And the funding for the District Attorneys office does come out of the same funding bucket. But there is no conflict of interest there, is there? (sarcasm)

And then you look at it from  the prism of an accountant. Do you not pay them a fee for their expertise to try to minimize your tax burden? The argument they are using is that the service is free to the consumer already, but can’t you go to the library and get the IRS forms for free? Why use an accountant or should the DA look at the whole accounting industry?

That is why I think that the Alameda DA is engaged in an outright intimidating behavior to discredit these companies so they will not harm their livelihood. How dare they think they can try to help out  homeowners who are overpaying their property taxes in a declining market and take money out  of the DA’s budget.

If the DA’s office had the ability to feel shame they probably would be a bit embarrassed right now. But that would be a long shot.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office is investigating two companies soliciting homeowners for $95 to $250 for property tax services they could receive for free, a deputy district attorney said Monday.
Deputy District Attorney David Lim said services like those offered by Connection Plus Inc. of Foster City and San Diego County-based Property Tax Adjusters Inc. could be illegal…

“At first blush, it looks like it may not be illegal, but we need to investigate if there’s a crime there,” said Lim, who handles real estate fraud. “We don’t know what they’re doing once they meet with people.” via San Jose Mercury News.

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