Letter: County assessor has crossed the line

To the community,

The long arm of our El Dorado County assessor is now reaching inside the walls of our vacation homes. A tax on personal furnishings? This takes our breath away.

What a “wonderful” way to discourage purchasing or upgrading our vacation property. They want purchase prices on furniture, stoves, refrigerators and supplies. Does that mean silverware, dishes, can openers, blankets, toasters? All this going back to 2003 and prior.

My reaction to this letter from our El Dorado tax assessor is: “You have got to be kidding!”

I am a retired letter carrier and my wife is a retired waitress. Maintaining our modest vacation home is a struggle with advertising (VRBO), management fees, property taxes, HOA dues, utility bills, South Lake Tahoe permit fees, South Lake Tahoe rental/TOT taxes, insurance, and repairs.

We received our notice with a deadline date of April 1 on March 29 — three days before the due date. How wonderful of them to give us a five-week “extension” to reply.

They have opened up a “can of worms” by asking for purchasing histories going back earlier than 2003. I no longer have purchase receipts going back farther than five years. Much of our home inventory are second-hand items we bring up after use in our primary home.

Are other counties around Lake Tahoe part of this new regulation? If that is not the case, this is both unfair and unethical.

Greg and Penny Ripke, South Lake Tahoe