SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — El Dorado County announced Tuesday that it is applying reductions to the assessed values of many businesses to recognize the economic impacts to certain industries resulting from the COVID pandemic.

Under Proposition 13, real property is required to be assessed at the lower of the propositions trended value, or the fair market value, (Prop 8) as of the lien date Jan. 1. Business property does not fall under the Prop 13 umbrella and is required to be assessed at the fair market value as of each lien date.

El Dorado County follows assessment guidance provided by the California Assessors Association and develops business valuation factors in conjunction with publications developed by the California State Board of Equalization.

“The pandemic has significantly impacted business revenues, costs and the value of property used for business,” said County Assessor Karl Weiland. “Recognizing the loss in value is the whole purpose of Prop 8.”

Given the economics of the pandemic and especially the impact on small businesses, both the assessor and the CAA have acknowledged that the economic impacts translate to a potential decline in value in business equipment for many trades.

“Based on industry data, as well as labor statistics from 2020, value reductions will be applied to nearly half of the county’s business and vacation home rental assessments for the Jan. 1, 2021 lien date,” Weiland said. “These value reductions will be reflected on the tax bills that are sent out between July and October of this year.”

Businesses can request an Assessed Value Detail Report on their assessed value any time after July 2. This report will include line item detail on the assessed value calculations of the business property, including any value reductions applied as a result of the COVID pandemic. These requests should be in writing by the business owner or authorized agent and can be emailed to the business and personal property division at edcbps@edcgov.us. Questions related specifically to the 2021 values of business assessments should be held until after roll close, as the values are not available until that time. County staff is working on processing thousands of 2021 property statements to meet this July 2 roll close deadline. Because of the heavy processing workload, we are currently trying to minimize interruptions while still being responsive to taxpayer concerns.

For more information, call 530-621-5716, email to edcbps@edcgov.us, or visit http://www.edcgov.us/assessor.