Laura McGann has the rundown on the breaking news from Alaska regarding the sweetheart land deal for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
Short version: Murkowski bought riverfront property on the Kenai River from a politically connected developer for $179,400, which just happened to be the assessed value of the property for property tax purposes. There are indications that the fair market value of the property may be nearly twice what Murkowski paid.
If only I could pick up real estate for the assessed value. Guess you have to be a U.S. senator for that kind of score.
Update: I’ve gotten a couple of emails–from readers in Massachusetts and Virginia, respectively–who would be happy to sell me property at the assessed value, saying that FMV is actually lower than their assessments. I’d be curious to know where else in the country this is the case.
In any event, our reporting shows that assessed value does trail FMV in the area where Murkowski’s property is located.
