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Roy Hall
KIMBALL, Tenn. — Roy Hall is a disabled veteran at odds with the Marion County Trustee’s Office over whether he’s exempt from county property taxes.
Mr. Hall, 56, is 100 percent disabled from his service in Vietnam, which he said qualifies him for exemption from his $742 tax bill.
The county says he has to pay his taxes up front for the first year he’s exempt, then get reimbursed by the state.
Mr. Hall said they are misinterpreting the rules.
“The only thing I blame (the county) for is they wouldn’t look” at state law, he said.
Mr. Hall said state law will accept either his tax notice or his receipt to qualify for the exemption.
Once the exemption is filed, the state pays his taxes to the county. Mr. Hall said the state paid his taxes to Kimball without a problem this year using only his notice.
But state officials said local government may decide whether the first tax bill can ride until the state reimburses a veteran’s taxes.
Kelsie Jones, director of the State Board of Equalization, said only local governments with a lot of money or extremely low property taxes are financially stable enough to give veterans credit for unpaid tax bills.
“Marion County, and most others, do not give that credit on that first time until you’re approved by the state,” Mr. Jones said. “And you can’t be approved until you apply, and you can’t apply without paying the taxes.”
Mr. Jones said veterans like Mr. Hall could be confused by differing policies among local governments.
Marion County Deputy Trustee Sue Blevins says she hasn’t run into problems with tax-exempt veterans before.
“We’d be glad to get him on the program,” she said. “But he has to pay his taxes first.”
Most Marion County veterans are aware of the rules, she said.
“When they come in they know they’re going to have to pay up front,” Ms. Blevins said. “When we tell them that, they understand that’s the way it applies to everyone.”
Ms. Blevins said four steps are required for veterans to gain tax-exempt status.
First, the veteran must fill out and sign an F-16 form from the trustee’s office. The county sends the form to state tax relief officials, who confirm the veteran’s disability status. Once the veteran is qualified, the state officials issue a reimbursement check, she said.
“The next year, all he does is come in and sign his voucher,” Ms. Blevins said. “When he signs, he’s confirming he still lives on this property and he doesn’t have to pay tax on the front end.”
Ms. Blevins noted Mr. Hall has until April 7 to get the exemption application process started or he could end up repeating the same scenario next year.
Mr. Hall said the part the bothers him most is that he paid his 2006 taxes at the time he closed on his house. That should have been his “first year” and 2007 should have been a voucher year, he said.
Mr. Hall said he’ll await his delinquent tax notice from the trustee’s office, then file an appeal.
“I’m a long ways from being done,” Mr. Hall said.
VETERAN EXEMPTIONS
Veterans who are 100 percent disabled with service-related conditions are eligible for exemption from local property taxes. Contact your county Veterans Affairs office or go to www.comptroller.state.tn.us/pa/patxr.htm.
Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee and previously covered North Georgia education. Ben has worked at the Times Free Press since November 2005, first covering Bledsoe and Sequatchie counties and later adding Marion, Grundy and other counties in the northern and western edges of the region to his coverage. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Tenn., a graduate of Bradley Central High School. Benton ...
