Why did I get a Personal Property form ("Form of List")?
Owners of unincorporated businesses in Massachusetts must report their business equipment and stock-in-trade annually to their local boards of assessors.
Similarly, owners of "second" homes must report furnishings and equipment at that home.
In recent years it has become apparent that certain Wendell businesses and second-home owners have reported responsibly, while others seem to have forgotten. To be fair to those who do report, and, in fact, to all Wendell taxpayers, the board of assessors has found it necessary to be proactive in this matter.
To help ensure that this "personal property" (as it is called) is assessed fairly, we have taken the extra step of mailing out Forms of List this year. If you have received a form, it is because the assessors have reason to believe that you may have taxable property used in a business (State Tax Form 2) and/or furnishings and equipment at a second home (State Tax Form 2HF). Those reasons include current deeds, information from the Town Clerk (d.b.a.'s), the advertising of goods or services on the internet and elsewhere, and other apparent indications.
Reporting your taxable property by returning Forms of List to the assessors is the best way to ensure that our values are correct. An exhaustively detailed list is not necessary, just a straightforward general description and your honest estimate of value, i.e., what you would expect to realize on an open-market sale.
The forms you return are not public records.
