State Tax Men Answer Tax Questions

State Tax Men Answer Tax Questions

By David Howell

Editor

COFFEEVILLE – A pair of veteran employees with the Mississippi Department of Revenue (DOR) drove up from Jackson for Tuesday’s supervisor meeting to provide information and answer questions about assessments set by Tax Assessor/Collector Linda Shuffield.

Their visit comes after depreciation rates for two blocks of Main Street buildings were questioned by Main Street property owner Kagan Coughlin last month. Coughlin presented a chart showing a comparison of the depreciation rates set for the buildings, also known as the condition of buildings, indicating what he described as a huge variance in property assessments. 

Coughlin also explained to supervisors that Shuffield’s opinion on the condition of the buildings has much more impact on the actual assessed value that the square foot value of the buildings, based on the formula used in accordance to state guidelines. 

First to speak Tuesday morning was DOR field appraiser and auditor  Rick Johnson, a 25 year veteran of the DOR and former employee of Sunflower County.

“I have worked probably 50, counties, her audits have turned out better than average most of the time,” Johnson said about Tax Assessor/Collector Linda Shuffield, adding that he had audited her assessments for the last two years. “Both years that I have looked at, I cannot argue with.”

“She doesn’t like to blow her own horn but I will blow it for her. I was really happy when I got her county because I knew it was going to be some good work. That’s what I am here to say,” Johnson added.

Shuffield next introduced DOR senior appraiser Jimmy Donald, who provided a brief description of the tax assessor’s duties and how Shuffield determines the depreciation of property.

“Her job is to go out and discover property that is taxable, put it on the land roll and put a fair, marketable value on the property,” Donald told supervisors. “We go behind and check her work,” he added.

In addressing the depreciation, Donald explained that Shuffield uses straight-line depreciation for buildings less than two decades old. For older buildings, Donald explained that Shuffield is required to determine what she thinks is the observed condition of the building.

Board President Cayce Washington then explained the reason the board had reached out to the DOR officials was to help understand the process to determine how the assessed value is determined.  Washington reiterated that Coughlin had questioned the variance in the depreciation of the buildings. 

“All I could do was lean on Miss Linda, I am a first-year supervisor. She has been doing this for 30-plus years and we didn’t have any other authority to go to. When she tells me something, I have to go with that,” Washington explained.  

“In trying to respond to the constituents and the taxpayers, to help them understand how she arrives at (depreciation) was our intended purpose,” he continued, adding that Shuffield does a good job for the county. 

Responding to a question from Herald editor David Howell about the different depreciation rates presented by Coughlin, Johnson said that he had not looked at the comparison for the specific Main Street buildings.

“I have to look at 25 percent, actually 250 separate properties. Some of them happen to be on Main Street,” Johnson explained. 

“But no side by side comparison,” Howell asked.

“I have not done that myself,” Johnson added.

“I wanted to give a response back to the taxpayers. There are a number of buildings that have been remodeled in the last four or five years and in the eyes of the public their condition seems to vary,” Washington said (see chart above).

“Well they should, buildings that have been remodeled should have a higher condition than the ones that did not,” Donald said, addressing the differences on some of the buildings on Main.

“I would just like to add that Linda does an excellent job,” Donald said as discussion on the topic came to a close.