If you own a home in Concord and think your property taxes are too high, you are probably right. According to a presentation in January by the city assessor (available online), Concord uses different methods to assess residential property and commercial property.

I believe that this means the assessments on commercial property overall are 10% lower than if they used the same method, and homeowners have to make up the difference. In the past the city has said this is due to a Supreme Court decision, but they have declined to say which decision.

Residential property is assessed on a cost basis often relying on sales of similar property. It is a wealth tax of about 2.8% as compared to the 2% wealth tax that Elizabeth Warren has proposed on multi-millionaires, and based on maximum use of the property with, for example, no reduction for empty-nesters with bedrooms they don’t use or months the owner is in Florida.

Some sales may be to people from other areas who overpay, but it increases assessments of similar property anyway. Recently sold property has probably had several thousand dollars of improvements prior to sale so it is in better condition than most properties, and you probably paid a real estate commission of 6% along with closing costs so you don’t get all the money.

By contrast, commercial property assessments are based on current income after expenses so you get the whole amount. This is an income tax that like other income taxes is subject to manipulation, as when property is leased to an affiliated company or expenses paid to your own property management company.

In a market like today’s, where rents are rising faster than inflation, it doesn’t properly account for future years’ profits. And with sales compared over up to 5 years previous instead of one year for residences, it doesn’t properly capture increases that have already occurred.

Utilities get an even better deal – they set their own valuations, which the city doesn’t verify. If you don’t believe that, ask the city for the valuations of the utilities buried in the recent Main Street project.

As an example of the difference, Main Street assessments are up only slightly after the millions of dollars spent on the Main Street renovation, at a time when mobile homes have had multiple double-digit increases. One Main Street property still has an assessment $1 million below what the developer paid for it, although he bragged to the Monitor what a good deal he got, instead of both it and adjoining properties being increased, which would have happened with residential.

If you are destitute except for your home, or elderly and poor, or your property is assessed higher than similar property, you can file an appeal with the city assessor – but be quick about it because the deadline is March 1. The disparity between property types apparently can be dealt with only by the city council, through policy change, court challenge or legislation as needed. But it will take a strong push by residents – the developers have already had their say.

(Roy Schweiker lives in Concord.)