Ex-Girlfriends, Neighbors Pitch In With Assist In Crackdown On Landlords, Other Property Owners Scoring Improper Tax Exemptions For Homestead Claims

In Sunrise, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

• City Hall is looking to crack down on tax cheats, with a little help from the Broward County Property Appraiser's Office.
  
  "It's an ongoing challenge," Property Appraiser Lori Parrish said. "Just when we think we have them all cleaned up, we get a batch of new ones."
  
  In 2009, fraud investigators nabbed 237 homeowners in Sunrise who were wrongly claiming homestead exemptions. The tax break, available only to Floridians on their primary residence, caps the annual increase in appraised value used to set tax bills.
  
  The crackdown put nearly $22 million in property value back on the tax rolls. The county was owed $726,000 in back taxes, with $181,000 going to Sunrise.
  
  The Property Appraiser's Office gets tips from neighbors who notice mail piling up, and even ex-girlfriends, Parrish said.

For the story, see Sunrise fishing for tax cheats.