I don't know that it is a "ploy" per se. Towns reassess property value when major work is done. The taxes are theoretically related to the house's value, so when you do major work that increases the home's value the taxes should theoretically go up. It depends on the work-- I got town approval for new kitchen, new bathrooms, gut reno of a room, and some other stuff and there was no reassessment or increase-- but if the work seems major the town will want to reassess. If the town's didn't do this then they would need to increase everyon's taxes across the board a lot more than they already do.
|