2005

A property tax revolt is quietly brewing on Chappaquiddick, where a large group of landowners have banded together and hired an attorney to challenge their latest property assessments.

Town Defends Tax Challenge

West Tisbury Assessors Dip Heavily Into Legal Spending Coffers;
Methods to Determine Values Come Under Close Scrutiny

By IAN FEIN

A pending property tax appeal in West Tisbury has triggered mounting
legal bills to defend the assessors' position in a complex case
that challenges their methods for determining property values.

2004

West Tisbury Assessors Lose Tax Challenge

By ALEXIS TONTI

The Massachusetts Court of Appeals this week overturned a decision
by the state Appellate Tax Board and ruled that the Martha's
Vineyard Land Bank is exempt from all taxation, upholding the power
vested in the conservation agency by its enabling legislation.

The case is an appeal of a decision first made by the West Tisbury
board of assessors that ordered the land bank to pay about $700 in taxes
on property bought in fiscal year 2002.

The ruling was issued Wednesday.

Pages