A property owner in Greensboro compared his tax bill this year to last year's and was shocked to see more than a 500% increase on his two undeveloped lots. | Pexels/Mikhail Nilov
A property owner in Greensboro compared his tax bill this year to last year's and was shocked to see more than a 500% increase on his two undeveloped lots. | Pexels/Mikhail Nilov
Most people would say it’s not unusual to see property tax bills increase from year to year, whether from reassessment or an increase in the tax rate -- but 500%?
When Anthony Reaves, who lives in Greensboro, opened his bill this year, he was extremely surprised by the increase he saw for two empty lots he owns.
“We got out tax bill like we normally do, and we noticed there was a 500% increase in our taxes,” Reaves told WFMY 2 News.
Reaves owns property that has been in his wife’s family since World War II. The land is split into three parcels for tax purposes, with two undeveloped lots and one with his house on it.
Last year, Reaves said the bills for the extra lots were $52 and $87, or $139 in total. This year, the tally for those two lots was $911.
When the lot with the home is thrown into the mix, his total tax bill went to almost $2,200 this year, up from less than $1,500 a year ago.
“We were shocked,” Reaves told WFMY 2 News. “This puts a strain on senior citizens."
Reaves filed a complaint and reached out to the Guilford County Tax Office for answers, then filed an appeal for the taxes on the two wooded lots.
Reaves told WFMY 2 News, “We (didn’t) get an explanation."
Someone with the tax office investigated, and the revenue department admitted a mistake had been made. The levy for the two wooded lots was adjusted down to $286.
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