[ilovetv]

The most understandable explanation of it for homeowners is this, in the April, 2009 POA Bulletin:

".....Any debt incurred to purchase common property from the developer is being paid off in an orderly manner as a part of our monthly amenity fees.

Second, the monthly amenity fee cannot be increased to an unreasonably high number because the amenity fee increase is capped at the increase in the Consumer Price Index in the previous 12 months on an individual basis.

Third, the Center Districts cannot impose any taxes or assessment on residents, because the Chapter 190 law that regulates Community Development Districts (CDDs) does not authorize any CDD to assess or tax anyone outside its geographic boundaries.

On Page 2-3:


"......Rich Lambrecht (AAC Chairman) - �On the IRS issue? I guess that the most important thing is that residents are probably very scared having read the article in the Or- lando Sentinel about the $18,000 per person we are going to owe and it just doesn�t jibe with the facts about how the government is set up.

The Center District has two abilities to raise money - the one is amenity fees which are contractual and can only be increased by the CPI, which Janet has told me is not going up very much in the next few months, so your amenity fee is going to be what it is irrespective of anything else going on.

The second point is that the Center District has no ability to tax anyone other than those landowners in the Village Center geographical area so there is no ability to collect $18,000 or any [amount] from residents.�

http://www.poa4us.org/bulletins_file...etin200904.pdf

[TVMayor]

Originally Posted by mulligan

FYI, the CDD's don't own the golf courses or any other amenities. My view is the IRS would penalize those who benefited from the sale and ownership of tax free bonds. That's not me.

From the Orlando Sentinel
May 31, 2009

In part it says��.

In the revenue agent's May 18 letter, he urged the districts to take a dramatic and enormously costly step: recall and pay off $355 million worth of outstanding tax-free bonds that paid Morse for everything from golf courses to swimming pools, utility plants to guard houses.

Leisureville USA: The BIG OUCH! -- Explained by Lauren Ritchie

[TVMayor]

From the Orlando Sentinel
April 29, 2009

I think the IRS no longer says Morse was overpaid but what he sold to the district is stated in the article.

In part it says��.

The district grossly overpaid Morse by $53 million, according to the IRS. The tangible assets, such as pools, golf courses, mail facilities, golf-ball washers and guardhouses, were worth about $6.9 million. Appraisers the Village district chose weren't qualified under IRS rules, partly because they weren't independent, and they failed to calculate correctly the value of the items purchased, Servadio contended.

Leisureville USA: Big Trouble in The Villages (Part 2)

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by TVMayor

From the Orlando Sentinel
May 31, 2009

In part it says��.



Leisureville USA: The BIG OUCH! -- Explained by Lauren Ritchie

You are using Lauren Ritchie as a source of factual information.............this could be a mistake? She makes things up as she goes. And The Villages is her whipping boy......................

[TVMayor]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

You are using Lauren Ritchie as a source of factual information.............this could be a mistake? She makes things up as she goes. And The Villages is her whipping boy......................

Mulligan said, �FYI, the CDD's don't own the golf courses or any other amenities.�

I said, �If memory serves me correctly the CDD sold tax free bonds to buy the amenities from the developer, if that is not the case what did they use the money for?�

What was the money used for B Shooter?

Do we need to look at some pdf files? Should we get sinkhole man on this?

You don�t like Lauren Ritchie, how about Michael C. Bender for the Bloomberg News?

In part��.

Under Florida's community-development district arrangement, Morse built amenities in The Villages -- primarily golf courses, pools and guard houses -- and then sold them to residents through district boards that decided how much to pay for the assets. The boards were appointed by Morse, as state law allows, and in every case the majority of the members worked for Morse; one board included Morse, according to Bloomberg's analysis.

Villages CDD bonds ruled taxable | HeraldTribune.com

[TVMayor]

On 6/27/1996 Village Center Community Development District purchased From Villages of Lake Sumter inc AKA �the developer� Tierra Del Sol golf course For $5,000,000.

Information from Sumter County.

Amen

[janmcn]

It will get very interesting when the developer starts selling off all the amenities south of 466, as this will involve tens (perhaps hundreds) of millions of dollars. Hopefully, both parties (Morse and CDD) have learned from their mistakes and won't use tax-free bonds to finance them.

It was reported on another thread that Morse won't transfer these assets until the IRS investigation ends. Who knows if that's true or not.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by janmcn

It will get very interesting when the developer starts selling off all the amenities south of 466, as this will involve tens (perhaps hundreds) of millions of dollars. Hopefully, both parties (Morse and CDD) have learned from their mistakes and won't use tax-free bonds to finance them.

It was reported on another thread that Morse won't transfer these assets until the IRS investigation ends. Who knows if that's true or not.

How could you tell? From posts on TOTV the Developer always lies!

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Moderator

Let's get back on topic or the thread will be closed.

This post needs to be revisited........................

[Steve9930]

Originally Posted by janmcn

It will get very interesting when the developer starts selling off all the amenities south of 466, as this will involve tens (perhaps hundreds) of millions of dollars. Hopefully, both parties (Morse and CDD) have learned from their mistakes and won't use tax-free bonds to finance them.

It was reported on another thread that Morse won't transfer these assets until the IRS investigation ends. Who knows if that's true or not.

I believe the tax free bonds were issued to fund the infrastructure, roads, sewers, etc.

[Steve9930]

Originally Posted by Indydealmaker

To the best of my knowledge the IRS has never sued a CDD in Florida based upon this interpretation of their statute. That is what at issue here. Virtually, just an opinion. If it was just you and I, we would agree to disagree and go our own way, but the IRS is the 700 pound gorilla and they just won't compromise.

It would be interesting to see if the IRS targeting scandal will come into play on this since Morse is a well known conservative.

Worst case scenario is less than $5,000/house. Big dent in my Johnnie Walk Black budget!

I doubt anything big will ever come from this issue. Its been in litigation for a long time and Morse has enough lawyers to keep this going forever. The IRS argument is that the Developer did not follow the regulation as to how you structure the CDD to allow you to issue Tax Free Bonds. The developer benefitted directly from the running of the CDD. This is how I understand the problem. What that means in relationship to the bonds and the fines that may follows who knows.

[TVMayor]

Originally Posted by Steve9930

I believe the tax free bonds were issued to fund the infrastructure, roads, sewers, etc.

That's a different bond.

[Mikeod]

To my knowledge, the golf courses included in the amenities purchased by the VCCDD were the executive courses, not the championship courses which are not part of the resident amenities.

I'm curious about the information that the VCCDD bought Tierra Del Sol golf course. It could be that it is owned by the central district as a district asset but not a resident amenity. Strange, since I was told the developer owned all those courses.

There was an article in the POA newsletter about a year ago that showed how the developer's take from sale of the amenities south of 466 was markedly different depending on whether the sale was with tax-free or taxable bonds even at the same sale price. The article asserted that the sale would not occur until the IRS issue was settled.

[mulligan]

Originally Posted by Steve9930

I believe the tax free bonds were issued to fund the infrastructure, roads, sewers, etc.

Bonds for infrastructure which you see on your property tax bill are issued as each district is built. These are the cdd's The district that purchased the amenities (priced correctly or not) is the VCCDD which has no residences in it's area of responsibility, only commercial property. The CDD"S are 100% residential areas.

[Steve9930]

Originally Posted by mulligan

Bonds for infrastructure which you see on your property tax bill are issued as each district is built. These are the cdd's The district that purchased the amenities (priced correctly or not) is the VCCDD which has no residences in it's area of responsibility, only commercial property. The CDD"S are 100% residential areas.

So which bond is on the tax bill, the ones for the infrastructure? Then which bond is the IRS questioning?