Jerry Sikes
April 16, 2001
Originally printed in Jerry's weekly column, With Regards.
"More good things in life are lost by indifference than ever were lost by active hostility." - Robert
Gordon Menzies -
Today I am feeling a little hostile, no that’s not true, I am feeling very hostile, belligerent, contentious, unfriendly, and combative. I am acting out a line from the old movie "Broadcast": "I am mad as hell and I don’t intend to take this anymore!" Why?
From the report on ARDA-New England contained in the February 2001 issue of Developments magazine and the State and Regional Round Up; "In a key issue throughout the region affecting the development and operation of resorts, resort properties continue to fight with local assessors over property tax issues. Vermont and Maine have had ongoing battles on the local and state level with Vermont’s situation apparently moving toward resolution. Maine awaits a decision from the Bureau of Revenue. Recently, a Cape Cod resort received a property tax assessment nearly doubling its property tax bill. There is little doubt that New England is no different than a number of other regions and states with municipal assessors continuing attempts to raise revenue, viewing vacation ownership as an easy prey."
Fudermore (just for Clark), in every state, city, county, borough, municipality, township, and every nook & cranny, appointed or elected authorities have created a bureaucracy ("Government characterized by specialization of function, adherence to fixed rules and a hierarchy of authority") with regard to how they view Vacation Ownership and/or Timeshare Plans. They can tax this source of funding in every imaginable way because they (whomever they are) are not of the bureaucrats' constituency. The very same evil which was at the base of the reason our forefathers fought a revolution. Classic taxation without representation. It’s like the roll-call at a national political convention; Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin, who knows where next! Did I leave off country? Obviously I forgot the Feds, (like our Internal Revenue Service) and their attempt to tax Reserves.
The Timeshare concept didn't exist in Arizona in 1982 when C&A Equities began purpose built construction on Scottsdale Camelback Resort however, as we enter the new millennium (2001) the State has become a growth area for Vacation Ownership and/or Timeshare Plans. Several of the big Development players in our industry, such as Shell, Trendwest, Starwood, Sunterra, Marriott, Four Seasons, ILX, Fairfield, and Epic are currently active. Major Management firms, such as VRI and ORE are involved with Arizona Resort Owner Associations and major Club Programs like Med Resorts, Vacation Services and GEO list Arizona Resorts as destinations for their members. RCI maintains an office in Scottsdale, as does Vacation & Travel. Major industry service organizations such as Finova, Concord Services and International Cruise and Excursion (ICE) have their headquarters in the Valley.
When ARDA-Arizona conducted its Economic Impact Study for 1999, twenty-seven different Arizona Resorts participated. Today, the State is rapidly approaching 40 resorts and it has been estimated that over 42 thousand Arizona citizens are owners of a Timeshare or Vacation Ownership Plan somewhere in the State. Their Resort could be in Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Yavapai, Coconino, or other Counties where they are subject to the whims of the bureaucracy because they have no Political Clout. Why? Because of two factors, First: The every-man-for-himself concept of isolation practiced by many in the Development segment of our Industry and, Second: The indifference generally exhibited by Owners or those who are supposed to represent them.
Working with the Department of Real Estate, ARDA-Arizona developed a new Timeshare Act for introduction at the 2001 Legislative Session. The bill was sponsored by Representative Barbara Luff and was first presented in the House Commerce Committee, of which she is Chairman. The Bill was assigned the number HB2395 and among many other things it contained a provision which prohibited County Tax Assessors from considering the Sale Price of the individual Interval Interest in determining the full cash value for any Timeshare Property. This language was necessary because the County Tax Assessor for Mohave County used that method and effectively increased the Property Tax for the London Bridge Timeshare Resort in Lake Havasu City by 1200%.
With the assistance of RCI, II, ARDA, and The Timeshare Beat we were able to create somewhat a ground swell of Phone, Letter, Fax and E-Mail messages from Arizona Citizens to their Legislators pleading with them to support HB2395 and the Property Tax provisions. To the best of my knowledge not one Arizona Citizen (acting as a Citizen) asked any individual Legislator not to support this Legislation. One would expect that with all of this input from those whom they were elected to represent, that every one of the members of the Arizona House of Representatives and the Arizona Senate would vote affirmative of this landmark Legislation.
Final Thought
BUREAUCRACY WINS, BUREAUCRACY WINS!
Upon the advice of several Arizona State Agencies such as the Arizona Department of Revenue and other organizations such as the Arizona Association of County Assessors, the Legislators went into their Bureaucratic shell and did nothing. By doing so, our Arizona Legislators can explain to us, their constituency, that they did not vote against our Tax Provision. We just did not have enough Political Clout to get our provisions in a position so that they could vote on it. Now that makes me mad as hell and I intend to do something about it. Will you join me, all you 42,000 Arizona Citizens? Together we can and will overcome the BUREAUCRACY.
Jerry Sikes can be reached at BOYGPS@AOL.COM
For more information on this subject, and how you can help, read this IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ARIZONA TIMESHARE OWNERS!