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General Interest
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Accurate Values
Personal property consists of business equipment, aircraft and vessels. Accurate appraisal of all types of property requires a flow of information between property owners and assessor staff. Unlike most public officials, the assessor is given specific authorization by State law to keep information obtained from property owners strictly confidential.
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Addresses of Property
The Assessor is responsible for maintaining two addresses associated with each property in Napa County.
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Direct Charges on Property Tax Bill
The primary purpose of the bill each property owner receives in October is to collect property taxes, which are based on the assessed value of the property.
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Discouraging Dumping on Rural Roads
One of the most frustrating drawbacks of owning real property that fronts on a road in the unincorporated area of Napa County is that other people sometimes dump garbage along that road frontage. One group of property owners along one of our rural county roads has organized a neighborhood watch to deal with this problem.
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Duties of the Assessor
Because property taxes are calculated on the value of the property being taxed, "ad valorem" in Latin, the Assessor must locate, describe and determine the value of the various kinds of property subject to taxation. The Assessor works for all the voters and property owners in the county and is charged with preparing fair and correct valuations based on objective market standards.
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Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Local agencies in Napa County have added Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to their automation infrastructure. GIS combines graphic representations (maps) with alphanumeric data, such as owner's name and address, property values, number of registered voters, etc.
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History of the Property Tax
From the pharaohs of ancient Egypt through the monarchies of Europe and Asia Minor to modern democratic representative governments, taxes on property have been a central form of revenue. The need to identify property and its owners led to the earliest census efforts extending into ancient times
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Place Names
Following some research done by the Assessor, here you can learn more about names and their importance in Napa County.
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Proration of Property Taxes
Unlike sales taxes or documentary transfer taxes, which are usually calculated and payable on a one-time, single transaction basis, property taxes can be divided. This process of dividing the tax burden is known as proration.
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Public Records & Personal Privacy
The consolidated Napa County offices of Assessor, Recorder, County Clerk and Registrar of Voters maintain and make available a great deal of information about individuals, financial transactions and property characteristics and values. With very few exceptions, California is an "open records" state, which means that documents relating to property transfers, financing and liens; property ownership; property characteristics; and value data are public record.
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Secured & Unsecured Taxes
There are two types of property taxes, secured and unsecured. To explain the difference between secured and unsecured taxes one has to understand the concept of property taxes being a lien on the property.
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Keeping Track Of Ownership
This article describes some history of tracking property ownership in California and the current system.
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Royal Claim to Private Property
An article that describes some history of property ownership in California from Spain's rule, into the 20th century.
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Document Transfer Tax
Describes the origins of transfer tax and how it is applied today.
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Knowledgeable Real Estate Buyer
Gives examples of resources available to a potential real estate buyer.