Curtis Bramble is at it again. This time, the Utah state senator is going after the owners of motor homes with a 350% increase in registration fees.
Bramble was the draconian “mastermind” behind the recent statewide fiasco requiring owners of multiple homes to declare the residential status of those homes as either primary or secondary. This was not a property tax issue, which is the function of the state’s 29 county assessor’s offices. Rather, the assessors were required to gather data from taxpayers for income tax purposes, which is supposed to be a function of the tax commission.
This made the assessors look like the bad guys and confused homeowners statewide. It also intimidated new homebuyers into believing they had only five days to submit a declaration or risk losing their 45% primary residence exemption.
In the future, the tax commission needs to do its own dirty work.
In Salt Lake County, primary exemptions are granted by default on all new homes and condos. They do not have to be applied for, and the assessor is not trying to take them away from anyone who deserves them.
Bramble needs to think before he acts. Better yet, he needs to be replaced.
David E. Jensen, Holladay
