Man fears loss of property due to rising property tax valuation
Dec 10, 2018, 10:15 AM
Photo: Kristin Murphy
CEDAR FORT — One Utah County man’s property tax jumped from $55,000 in 2017 to $448,000 this year, even though no improvements were made to the property.
The 2,200-acres of land near Cedar Fort has been in Weston Ault’s family for four generations and he tells the Daily Herald there were very gradual tax increases over the last 30-years.
In 1984, the valuation for all five parcels of land totaled $43,000 and just last year the tax value was about $164,000 but Ault says this year the taxes rose astronomically. Just one of the five parcels was valued at $228,000 and Ault says he’s concerned he will lose the land to taxes.
Ault currently doesn’t have to pay the increased taxes because the land is under greenbelt zoning but he worries he will lose the status as the county grows and his children or grandchildren won’t be able to afford the taxes.
The Herald reports that calls to the county assessor office have gone unanswered and Ault is appealing the valuation change.
