Why in Fulton County?
Returns in Fulton so outnumbered those in the other counties for several reasons. Fulton has about 80,000 more parcels and is about a third larger than the next closest county. But the county also has a history of anti-tax activism. The Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation — which contests taxes — files returns and handles appeals for homeowners unhappy with the assessors’ work. And two private companies formed last year in Fulton to encourage homeowner appeals. The newspaper found that a number of return filers were real estate investors with multiple properties — people with more money at stake who tend to be more savvy about property law. Landlord R.J. Morris bought a 2-bedroom, 1-bath Craftsman home in East Point for $22,000 in January 2009 — the time when values are set. Fulton’s 2008 value? $85,300. The county’s 2009 number? $82,500. That’s just 3 percent off the 2008 number and is nearly four times what Morris paid. Morris said there are dozens of similar cases across the 50 prope
