By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES—Elected officials accomplished a long-standing goal of finding a mechanism that encourages businesses to pay the personal property tax bill.

A business license that costs $10 will not be issued if a business is not current on its personal property tax. 

Additionally, the Town of Naples contracted a company to perform a revaluation of personal property tax. The result was an increase of more than $10,000,000 in the value of personal property tax, also known as business tax.

The personal property tax is different from real estate property tax. Personal property includes the items a business uses that are not already taxed. Another way that personal property tax differs from the property tax is that there is no tax lien process. However, it is legal to withhold a business license if a company is behind on its business tax. 

On Monday night, during the Naples Board of Selectmen meeting, Naples Town Manager John Hawley reported on the personal property tax revaluation.

“The personal property tax revaluation has been completed,” Hawley stated. 

“As you know, what prompted the revaluation was that the town couldn’t keep up with the year-to-year assessments of business equipment. Our real estate assessor was not contracted to do that work so we generally relied on businesses to supply their own property lists. It was not uncommon for us to get the forms that said, ‘Same as last year. Same as last year,’ ” he said. 

“So the values never increased and much of the equipment was never taxed. New inventory added each year was left off the list,” he said. “We didn’t have anyone checking.”

Once the numbers were compiled and tallied, the difference was astounding. 

“Before the assessment, our property value was $5,006,072. After the revaluation we committed taxes at $16,297,819,” Hawley said.

That is a difference of $11,291,747.

“You can see what a little bit of lax in accountability can do to a tax valuation,” Hawley said.

These new numbers will lower the real estate value, he said. 

Chairman Jim Grattelo spoke 

“It is important for the public to understand, basically, property-owners in the Town of Naples was subsidizing for businessowners,” Grattelo said.

“We aren’t taking extra money and putting it in the coffers. We will be reducing real estate taxes to be fair and equitable,” he said. 

“It should have been done over the years. We just caught up on it,” he said. 

A member of the audience asked what items are considered personal property tax.

“It’s all the business equipment that isn’t already taxed. If you own a barber shop, it is your chairs or clippers,” Hawley said.

A company pickup truck would not be included in personal property tax because an excise tax covers that, he said. 

“The forklift at the marina is something that would be included in personal property tax because it’s not part of excise tax,” he said. 

In related business, the town’s new business license goes into effect at the beginning of the New Year.

“Businesses need to license with town prior to Jan. 31,” Hawley said.

Chairman Grattelo commented. 

“Again for the public, the purpose of this is so that we have the businesses registered in the town so that we know what exists. More importantly, some businesses haven’t paid the personal property tax. If a business has a back debt on personal property tax, the town is not allowed to have a lien,” he said. “If we create a business license, we are allowed not to give a business license if a business has not paid [its] personal property tax.”