Late property taxpayers deserve a break

The law says you should know when you property tax bill is due, even if you don't get a notice from the assessor's office.

But, as some residents have asked, how do you know how much to pay?

A mailing mixup with the U.S. Postal Service apparently left hundreds of Carson City homeowners in the dark when notices sent out in mid-July never arrived. They recently got their delinquent notices, though, and with them a 10 percent penalty.

Dollarwise, the penalty may not seem like much to some people. Many of the bills are for mobile homes, and the example cited in the Appeal was $8.14 on top of an $81.40 bill.

But many people live in mobile homes because they must live frugally. Eight bucks is still eight bucks. And it means a heck of a lot more to the individuals' pocketbooks than it does to government coffers.

So the penalties are being waived by Assessor Dave Dawley. It's the right thing to do.

Yes, Nevada Revised Statute 361.480 states: "Failure to receive an individual tax bill does not excuse the taxpayer from the timely payment of his taxes." That's the state's way of covering its own assets.

However, NRS 361.4835 reads: "If the county treasurer or the county assessor finds that a person's failure to make a timely return or payment of tax ... is the result of circumstances beyond his control and occurred despite the exercise of ordinary care and without intent, the county treasurer or the county assessor may relieve him of all or part of any interest or penalty, or both."

That's the state's way of saying sorry, somebody messed up. The property owners deserved a break on this one.