The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "property tax records" ...
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D.C. Tax Office Scandal
The District of Columbia struck an unprecedented number of deals behind closed doors this year with prominent commercial property owners who had appealed their tax assessments, reducing the city's tax base by $2.6 billion. The settlements were kept from the public for months until The Washington Post started mining public records and filing FOIAs, which the city routinely denied until the newspaper's lawyers got involved. The Post also learned that city leaders had kept critical internal audits about the tax office in "draft" format to prevent their release under FOIA. Through sources, The Post obtained the undisclosed reports -- along with a dozen other audits that had been kept from public view -- and published the findings for the first time. The series prompted the City Council to change the law to require the tax office to immediately make public all of its reports -- bringing a new level of transparency to a once secretive agency. The Securities and Exchange Commission also launched a probe to see if the city had kept critical findings from audits used to determine bond ratings. The inquiry is ongoing.
Tags: tax fraud; taxes; taxpayers; tax office
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Pay Day Lenders Skirt Law
The story revealed how a high end race car driver who is also a convicted felon is partnering with an Indian tribe to run a multi-million dollar payday loan business. By partnering with the tribe the lenders do not have to follow any state laws. The lender is currently under multiple investigations by attorneys general.
Tags: payday loan; Better Business Bureau; property tax records
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Examination of Township Government
This series examines township governments and looks at the effectiveness of them from a number of people. These stories revealed that these townships were reserving money, though funds and resources were tight, reducing the amount of taxpayer money available, and nepotism was frequent in the townships.
Tags: property tax; budget; state; benefits; administrative; state records; families; neighborhood; assistance; rural
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Takings Initiatives Accountability Project: The Center for Public Integrity investigates ballot initiatives that would radically change land-use and environmental regulation in five Western states
The [non-partisan]Center for Public Integrity investigated 2006 "ballot initiatives that were designed to radically change land-use and environmental regulation in five Western states. They discovered that a trio of "secret donors" accounted for 99% of the propostions' bankrolls, and some of the initiatives did not comply with campaign-finance and other regulations. Then the Center revealed that 85 percent of the funding was coming from a single wealthy real estate investor and Libertarian activist, Howard RIch All but the Arizona inititative failed at the ballot. The Center for Public Integrity set up a stand-alone website-- www.takings initiatives.org-- and filed more than 50 articles on it. "Our general practice-- and a novel one as far as we can tell-- was to mount verbatim transcripts of the interviews on our website, including audio recordings where available. We sought to allow proponents, opponents funders and experts to have a chance to present their side of the story in their own words." The Center also checked with state and federal regulators for compliance of relevant laws and regulations.
Tags: Takings Initiatives; takings clause; ballot initiatives; land-use regulation; environmental regulation; tax-exempt organizations; Howard Rich; Andrea Millen Rich; Council for Responsible Government; William A. Wilson; state campaign-finance filings; public records requests; state freedom of information requests; America At Its Best; Americans for Limited Government; John Tillman; Howard Ahmanson; Fieldstead & Company; property rights; prefessional signature-gatherers; Colorado At Its Best; term limits; nonprofit advocacy organizations; Sam Adams Alliance; Sam Adams Foundation; Legislative Education Action Drive; Parents in Charge Foundation; Social Security Choice.org; Illinois Charitable Trust Bureau; educational vouchers; tuition tax credits; National Taxpayers Union; First Class Education; Susquehanna International Group; Jeffrey YAss; Cato Institute; Alliance for School Choice; Decision Education Foundation; Eric Brooks; Susan Mitchell; Pete Sepp; Kern Family Foundation; Generac Power Systems, Inc.; Milton Friedman; Taxpayer Bill of Rights; TABOR; Laird Maxwell; This House is MY Home; John Whitehead; Lower Manhattan Development Corporation; Exoxemis, Inc.; Family Farm Preservation Pact; Citizens for Community Protection; Kelo v. City of New London; eminent domain; New York Millionaires Assistance Act; Wallace Global Fund; Nicholas C. Dranias; PRNewswire; Eric O'Keefe; getliberty.com; George Soros
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Land of Confusion
At Country Club of the Poconos, some residents of this large home development "weren't conveyed any land with their home purchases." The land had never been subdivided for individual ownership "on plans approved by the township and recorded in the deeds office." and a new property owners association eventually obtained the deed on the land as "open space." While that association has a property tax exemption for the open space, individual home buyers are still paying taxes "on property they don't own."
Tags: Country Club of the Poconos; land development; land ownership
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A Rapid Rise
This investigation examined dozens of unusual real estate deals in working-class neighborhoods in which buyers made low-ball offers to desperate sellers. The recorded sales prices, however, were tens of thousands of dollars more. These deals happened during a precipitous decline in Florida’s housing boom. In each transaction, the buyers borrowed close to the full amount from lenders. The investigations showed that the money between the price paid to the sellers and the recorded sales prices was paid to a third party. This was not always disclosed to the lenders, which is against state and federal law. All the deals involved the same real estate agent, the same title company and the same group of buyers. The same appraiser was used in many of the cases, and the appraisals reflected the higher price. As a result of the inflated prices, property values were artificially raised for the rest of the neighborhoods, resulting in higher taxes.
Tags: real estate; property; taxes; public property;
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Tax Revolt Goes Awry
This investigation exposed inequities in Florida's property tax system, which are unintended consequences of the Save Our Homes tax amendment. The discrepancies have grown so much that millionaires in beachfront homes pay less than middle-class families living in modest houses, costing the state millions in property tax revenue.
Tags: property taxes; real estate; development; tax reform; tax shelters; tax havens; Save Our Homes Amendment; open records
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Probing into the Wealth of Public Servants
The Korean Broadcasting System investigative team researched the land holding and tax records of hundreds of high-ranking South Korean government officials and found numerous instances of tax evasion and speculative real estate purchases by officials. The investigation led to changes in South Korean law regarding declaration of properties of public servants.
Tags: South Korea; tax evasion; tax records; land records; real estate; real estate speculation; public officials
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How Developers Cash in on Farmland; Law Fails to Save Florida Farmland; Appraisers Lax in Tax Break Scrutiny
The authors examined Florida's "Greenbelt" law, which is designed to help farmers stay in business. The authors found, though, that the law is ineffective and ends up costing local governments a lot of money. Developers use the law as a tax break, and consequently the law is "one of the weakest preservation programs in the nation."
Tags: developers; farm property; public records; FOIA; tax breaks; local government; farmers
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Tax Dodgers
A WTAE-TV investigation found serious problems with Pittsburgh's tax collection procedures as the city grappled with municipal bankruptcy. The two stories found that the city had more than $21 million in delinquent taxes, or half its deficit at the time, and that some of the biggest banks in Pittsburgh, and around the country, were failing to pay their taxes.
Tags: Pittsburgh municipal bankruptcy; Pittsburgh delinquent taxes; Pittsburgh banks; property records; corporation records; Pennsylvania's Right-To-Know (FOI) Law