Senate Bill No. 437
(By Senators Ross, Love, Miller, Plymale, Buckalew and Sharpe)
____________
[Introduced February 20, 1995; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
____________
A BILL to repeal section twenty-seven, article three, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact section
six, article one of said chapter; to amend and reenact
section ten, article one-c of said chapter; to amend and
reenact sections two-a, three-a, ten, eleven, twenty-four,
twenty-four-a, twenty-five and twenty-six, article three of
said chapter; and to further amend said article by adding
thereto six new sections, sections two-b, two-c,
twenty-four-b, twenty-four-c, twenty-four-d and
twenty-four-e, all relating to the procedures for reporting
property for ad valorem taxation and for review of assessments made for ad valorem taxation; providing for
notice of reporting requirements, penalties for failure to
satisfy reporting requirements, assessments and procedures
for review of assessments; clarifying penalties for failure
to satisfy reporting requirements; expanding and clarifying
opportunities for administrative and judicial review of
assessments; and reforming the procedures whereby certain
refunds of overpaid ad valorem taxes are made.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-seven, article three, chapter eleven of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be repealed; that section six, article one of said
chapter be amended and reenacted; that section ten, article one-c
of said chapter be amended and reenacted; that sections two-a,
three-a, ten, eleven, twenty-four, twenty-four-a, twenty-five and
twenty-six, article three of said chapter be amended and
reenacted; and that said article be further amended by adding
thereto six new sections, two-b, two-c, twenty-four-b,
twenty-four-c, twenty-four-d and twenty-four-e, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 1. SUPERVISION.
§11-1-6. Forms and instructions for assessors.
The tax commissioner shall prepare and forward to the
assessors such
uniform printed forms for the personal property
books, and the land books, and such lists of taxable subjects to
be furnished by the assessors to persons chargeable with taxes,
as will procure a perfect assessment of all the persons and
property, both real and personal, in this state subject to
taxation, and shall have full power to alter or change any and
all forms and books from time to time, so as to procure a just
and equal assessment of all taxable property.
The tax
commissioner shall integrate and coordinate such uniform printed
forms so as to facilitate ease of compliance by persons subject
to the reporting requirements, and ease of administration,
assessment and collection of taxes, with respect to related
persons and property, both real and personal, subject to
taxation. Such uniform printed forms shall include, or shall be
accompanied by, complete, uniform printed instructions for proper
completion and timely filing of such forms, notice of penalties
for failure to comply with applicable filing requirements, notice
of the procedures for making a written request for extension of
time to file such forms, and notice of the procedure for making an amendment to a form previously filed. Such uniform printed
forms shall also include on the face thereof an appropriate space
for the person chargeable with taxes to indicate the
classification for levy purposes, and to claim any exemption from
taxation, with respect to each item of property, both real and
personal, to be reported, and the basis or reason therefor. Such
uniform printed forms prepared by the tax commissioner shall be
furnished by the assessors to persons chargeable with taxes with
respect to property, both real and personal, used by said person
in the conduct of a trade or business, and may be accompanied,
with the approval of the tax commissioner, by such supplemental
uniform printed local forms as may be prepared by any assessor to
facilitate the work of that assessor in his or her county. Such
uniform printed forms prepared by the tax commissioner may be
furnished by the assessors to persons chargeable with taxes with
respect to property, both real and personal, not used by said
person in the conduct of a trade or business, or in lieu thereof
any individual assessor may furnish to such persons chargeable
with taxes in his or her county, a uniform printed local form
prepared by that individual assessor: Provided, That such local form is approved in advance by the tax commissioner: Provided,
however, That county assessors may, with the approval of the tax
commissioner,
also use such
other printed
local forms as may be
necessary in the use of mechanical devices designed to facilitate
the work of the assessor:
Provided further, That the county
court commission is hereby authorized to purchase and pay out of
the county treasury for
all such printed
local forms for use by
the assessor. The tax commissioner shall also, by letter or
printed circular, give such instructions to the assessors
respecting their duties as may seem to him
or her judicious; and
if any assessor fail to obey such instructions, so far as they
are not contrary to law, he
or she shall forfeit not less than
one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, and, upon
being convicted, shall be removed from office.
ARTICLE 1C. FAIR AND EQUITABLE PROPERTY VALUATION.
§11-1C-10. Valuation of industrial property and natural
y
resources property by tax commissioner; penalties;
methods; values sent to assessors
.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Industrial property" means real and personal property
integrated as a functioning unit intended for the assembling, processing and manufacturing of finished or partially finished
products.
(2) "Natural resources property" means coal, oil, natural
gas, limestone, fireclay, dolomite, sandstone, shale, sand and
gravel, salt, lead, zinc, manganese, iron ore, radioactive
minerals, oil shale, managed timberland as defined in section two
of this article, and other minerals.
(b) All owners of industrial property and natural resources
property each year shall make a return to the state tax
commissioner and, if requested in writing by the assessor of the
county where situated, to such county assessor at a time and in
the form specified by the commissioner of all industrial or
natural resources property owned by them. The commissioner may
require any information to be filed which would be useful in
valuing the property covered in the return. Any penalties
provided for in this chapter or elsewhere in this code relating
to failure to list any property or to file any return or report
may be applied to any owner of property required to make a return
pursuant to this section:
Provided, That the state tax
commissioner may grant a reasonable extension of time for making the return required by this subsection upon written request of
the property owner, made to the tax commissioner prior to the
time fixed for making such return, on such terms and conditions
as the tax commissioner may reasonably require: Provided,
however, That no such extension shall exceed sixty days:
Provided further, That the property owner shall be entitled to
amend any such return by filing with the state tax commissioner
a return designated as an amended return within thirty days from
the due date, or any extension thereof, of the original return,
and may amend any such return subsequent to thirty days from the
due date, or any extension thereof, of the original return only
upon permission of the state tax commissioner on such terms and
conditions as the tax commissioner may reasonably require.
(c) The state tax commissioner shall value all industrial
property in the state at its fair market value within three years
of the approval date of the plan for industrial property required
in subsection (e) of this section. The commissioner shall
thereafter maintain accurate values for all such property. The
tax commissioner shall forward each industrial property appraisal
to the county assessor of the county in which that property is located and the assessor shall multiply each such appraisal by
sixty percent and include the resulting assessed value in the
land book or the personal property book, as appropriate for each
tax year. The commissioner shall supply support data that the
assessor might need to evaluate the appraisal.
(d) Within three years of the approval date of the plan
required for natural resources property required pursuant to
subsection (e) of this section, the state tax commissioner shall
determine the fair market value of all natural resources property
in the state. The commissioner shall thereafter maintain
accurate values for all such property.
(1) In order to qualify for identification as managed
timberland for property tax purposes the owner must annually
certify, in writing to the division of forestry, that the
property meets the definition of managed timberland as set forth
in this article and contracts to manage property according to a
plan that will maintain the property as managed timberland. In
addition, each owner's certification must state that forest
management practices will be conducted in accordance with
approved practices from the publication "Best Management Practices for Forestry." Property certified as managed
timberland shall be valued according to its use and productive
potential. The tax commissioner shall promulgate rules for
certification as managed timberland.
(2) In the case of all other natural resources property, the
commissioner shall develop an inventory on a county by county
basis of all such property and may use any resources, including,
but not limited to, geological survey information; exploratory,
drilling, mining and other information supplied by natural
resources property owners; and maps and other information on file
with the state division of environmental protection and office of
miners' health, safety and training. Any information supplied by
natural resources owners or any proprietary or otherwise
privileged information supplied by the state division of
environmental protection and office of miners' health, safety and
training shall be kept confidential unless needed to defend an
appraisal challenged by a natural resources owner. Formulas for
natural resources valuation may contain differing variables based
upon known geological or other common factors. The tax
commissioner shall forward each natural resources property appraisal to the county assessor of the county in which that
property is located and the assessor shall multiply each such
appraisal by sixty percent and include the resulting assessed
value in the land book or the personal property book, as
appropriate, for each tax year. The commissioner shall supply
support data that the assessor might need to explain or defend
the appraisal. The commissioner shall directly defend any
challenged appraisal when the assessed value of the property in
question exceeds two million dollars or an owner challenging an
appraisal holds or controls property situated in the same county
with an assessed value exceeding two million dollars. At least
every five years, the commissioner shall review current
technology for the recovery of natural resources property to
determine if valuation methodologies need to be adjusted to
reflect changes in value which result from development of new
recovery technologies.
(e) The tax commissioner shall develop a plan for the
valuation of industrial property and a plan for the valuation of
natural resources property. The plans shall include expected
costs and reimbursements, and shall be submitted to the property valuation training and procedures commission on or before the
first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, for
its approval on or before the first day of July of such year.
Such plan shall be revised, resubmitted to the commission and
approved every three years thereafter.
(f) To perform the valuation duties under this section, the
state tax commissioner shall have the authority to contract with
a competent property appraisal firm or firms to assist with or to
conduct the valuation process as to any discernible species of
property statewide if the contract and the entity performing such
contract is specifically included in a plan required by
subsection (e) of this section or otherwise approved by the
commission. If the tax commissioner desires to contract for
valuation services only in one county or a group of counties, the
contract must be approved by the commission.
(g) The county assessor may accept the appraisal provided,
pursuant to this section, by the state tax commissioner:
Provided, That if the county assessor fails to accept the
appraisal provided by the state tax commissioner, the county
assessor shall show just cause to the valuation commission for the failure to accept such appraisal and shall further provide to
the valuation commission a plan by which a different appraisal
will be conducted.
(h) The costs of appraising the industrial and natural
resources property within each county, and any costs of defending
same shall be paid by the state:
Provided, That the office of
the state attorney general shall provide legal representation on
behalf of the tax commissioner or assessor, at no cost, in the
event the industrial and natural resources appraisal is
challenged in court.
(i) For purposes of revaluing managed timberland as defined
in section two of this article, any increase or decrease in
valuation by the commissioner shall not become effective prior to
the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one. The
property owner may request a hearing by the director of the
division of forestry, who may thereafter rescind the
disqualification or allow the property owner a reasonable period
of time in which to qualify the property. A property owner may
appeal a disqualification to the circuit court of the county in
which the property is located.
§11-3-2a. Notice of increased proposed assessment required,
exceptions to notice; notice of increased assessment;
notice of special valuation.
(a) If the assessor determines the assessed valuation of any
item of
real property is more than ten percent greater than the
valuation assessed for that item in the last tax year and the
increase be entered in the property books as provided in section
nineteen of this article, the assessor shall
give deliver written
notice of the increase to the person assessed or the person
controlling the property as provided in section two of this
article. The notice must be
given delivered at least fifteen
days prior to the first
meeting in day of February
at which the
county commission meets as the board of equalization and review
for that tax year and advise the person assessed or the person
controlling the property of his
or her right to appear
before the
assessor and seek an adjustment in the assessment. The notice
shall be
made delivered by
first class United States
postage mail
mailed to the address of the person assessed or the person
controlling the property for payment of tax on the item in the
previous year.
Such notice shall be provided by the assessors on
uniform printed forms prepared and forwarded to the assessors by the tax commissioner. The notice shall contain the information
hereinbefore required, and shall also set forth the following
information with respect to the property or interest in the form
shown or as near thereto as may practicable:
"NOTICE
ATTENTION:There has been proposed AN INCREASE IN THE ASSESSED
VALUATION of one or more of your properties in an
amount more than ten percent greater than the
valuation assessed for that item in the last tax year.
This INCREASED ASSESSED VALUATION is proposed to be
the assessed valuation of such property for purposes
of imposition of the property tax for this tax year.
IDENTIFICATION OF INCREASE
The following information is provided in order to assist you
in identifying the increase described above and the property to
which such increase is proposed to be made:
REAL PROPERTY
Property Identi
fication:
Last Year This Year
1.
Appraised Valuation: $
$
Land: $ $
Improvement: $ $
2.Assessed Valuation: $ $
Land:$ $
Improvement:
$ $
PERSONAL PROPERTY
Property Identification:
Last Year This Year
1.Appraised Valuation: $ $
2.Assessed Valuation: $ $
RIGHT TO ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
Any owner of property subject to tax, who shall timely
complete and file the written protest as provided herein, shall
be entitled to a meeting with the assessor in February to protest
the proposed assessed valuation of such property, as entered in
the property books by the assessor. Such meeting shall be held
only when such property owner shall have completed and filed in
the office of the assessor, either personally or by United States mail, on or before the twentieth day of February of this year, a
written protest of the proposed assessed valuation on a uniform
printed form prepared by the tax commissioner and made available
upon request at such assessor's office, or on a form
substantially similar thereto. Upon receipt of such written
protest, the assessor shall assign a time for the meeting and
shall notify the property owner of such time.": Provided, That
in the event that unless there was a general increase of the
entire valuation in any one or more districts
in which case the
notice shall be by publication thereof
by a Class II-O legal
advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three,
chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the area for the publication
is the county as a retail display advertisement, as opposed to,
and other than, a legal and classified advertisement, to be
published in every newspaper of general circulation within the
county which shall be in the following form:
"NOTICE
Be hereby advised and notified that there has been proposed
a general increase in the assessed valuation of the entire
valuation of all properties in the District's ___________________ of this county for property tax purposes. The amount of such
general increase is proposed to be used for property taxes with
respect to this year and is in the amount of ________________
percent.
RIGHT TO ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
Any owner of property subject to tax in this county who
shall timely complete and file a written protest as provided
herein, shall be entitled to a meeting with the assessor in
February of this year to protest the proposed assessed valuation
of such property, as entered in the property books by the
assessor. Such meeting shall be held only when such property
owner shall have completed and filed in the office of the
assessor, either personally or by United States mail, on or
before the twentieth day of February of this year, a written
protest of the proposed assessed valuation on a uniform printed
form prepared by the tax commissioner and made available upon
request at such assessor's office, or on a form substantially
similar thereto. Upon receipt of each such written protest, the
assessor shall assign a time for the meeting and shall notify the
property owner of such time."
Such advertisement shall be of a size sufficient to be
readily visible and apparent to the readers of such newspaper and
shall be at least fifteen column inches or its equivalent and
shall appear in each newspaper in some portion thereof other than
that portion devoted to legal and classified advertising. The
assessor shall solicit the running of such advertisement as a
public service or at a reduced cost, but, in any event, the cost
of such advertisement shall be paid for out of the county
treasury with funds appropriated for that purpose. Such
advertisement shall be published at least three times between the
first and last day of January in every year, but no more often
than once a week during such period, and shall be published the
third and final time no earlier than the twenty-first day of
January or, in the case of weekly newspapers, the edition next
preceding that date. The advertisements required to be published
by the provisions of this section shall not include the name of
the tax commissioner or of any other public official or employee,
whether elected or appointed, and such person may be referred to
in such advertisements, if at all, by their title or office only.
The requirement of notice under this section is satisfied and waived if personal notice of the
proposed increase is shown by:
(1) The taxpayer having signed the assessment form after it
had been completed showing the
proposed increase increased
assessed valuation;
(2) Notice was given as provided in section three-a of this
article
and the proposed increased assessed valuation is based
solely on the information contained therein; or
(3) The person
so whose property is to be assessed
having
executing executed acknowledgement of the notice of the
proposed
increase increased assessed valuation.
(b) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, when any increase occurs in the assessed valuation, or
any change in the classification or taxability, of any property
either from the immediately prior tax year or from that
classification or taxable status indicated by the owner thereof
in his or her return of the same for the current tax year, and
such increase or change be entered in the property books as
provided in section nineteen of this article, and such property
books are approved by the county commission sitting as a board of
equalization as provided in section twenty-four of this article, a notice of any and all such increases and changes shall be
delivered to the property owner, contemporaneous to and in
conjunction with the mailing to the property owner of the tax
bill with respect to the property, by mailing such notice by
United States mail to the address of the property owner shown on
the tax bill. Such notice shall be provided to the sheriff by
the assessor on uniform printed forms prepared and forwarded to
the assessor by the tax commissioner.
(2) The notice required pursuant to paragraph (1) of this
subsection shall contain the information hereinbefore required,
and shall also set forth the applicable portions of the following
information with respect to the property in the form shown or as
near thereto as may be practicable:
"NOTICE
ATTENTION:There has been determined AN INCREASE IN THE
ASSESSED VALUATION of one or more of the properties
identified on your property tax bill for this year.
This INCREASED ASSESSED VALUATION is the assessed
valuation of such property being used for purposes
of imposition of the property tax.
ATTENTION:There has been A CHANGE IN THE CLASSIFICATION of one
or more of the properties identified on your
property tax bill for this year. This CHANGED
CLASSIFICATION is the classification of such
property being used for purposes of imposition of
the property tax and it differs from the
classification you indicated for such property in
your return of the same.
ATTENTION:There has been A CHANGE IN THE TAXABILITY of one or
more of the properties identified on your property
tax bill for this year. This CHANGED TAXABILITY is
the taxable status of such property being used for
purposes of imposition of the property tax and it
differs from the taxable status you indicated for
such property in your return of the same.
IDENTIFICATION OF INCREASE(S) OR CHANGE(S)
The following information is provided in order to assist you
in identifying each and every of the increase(s) or change(s)
described above and each and every property to which such
increase(s) or change(s) apply:
REAL PROPERTY
Property Identification:
Last Year
This Year
(or as claimed
in your return)
1. Appraised Valuation:$
$
Land:$
$
Improvement:$
$
2. Assessed Valuation:$
$
Land:$
$
Improvement:$
$
3.
Classification:
Land:
Improvement:
4. Taxability:
Land:
Improvement:
PERSONAL PROPERTY
Property Identification
Last Year
This Year
(or as claimed
in your return)
1.Appraised Valuation:$
$
2. Assessed Valuation:$
$
3.Classification:
4. Taxability:
RIGHT TO ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
A. Any owner of property subject to tax who shall properly
and timely complete and file the written protest as provided herein, shall be entitled to a hearing before the county
commission sitting as a board of review from the twentieth day of
July, to the fifteenth day of August of this year, to protest the
assessment of such property with respect to this tax year.
However, in no case shall any question of classification or
taxability be considered or reviewed by the county commission.
(See paragraph B. below.) Such hearing shall be allowed only
when such property owner completes and files in the office of the
clerk of the county commission, either personally or by United
States mail, on or before the first day of August of this year,
a written protest of the assessment on a uniform printed form
prepared by the tax commissioner and made available upon request
at such clerk's office, or on a form substantially similar
thereto. Upon receipt of such written protest, the clerk of the
county commission shall assign a time for the hearing and shall
notify the property owner of such time. In the event that the
property owner shall also desire to object to the classification
or taxability of any of his or her property, he or she must, in
addition to seeking the review described by this paragraph, also
seek the review described by paragraph B. below.
If any person receiving this notice fails to apply for
relief before the county commission sitting as a board of review
in the manner herein provided, he or she shall have waived his or
her right to ask for correction of his or her assessed valuation
for the tax year, and shall not thereafter be permitted to obtain
administrative or judicial review of the correctness of such
assessed valuation.
B. Any owner of a property who shall properly and timely
complete and file the written protest as provided herein, shall
be entitled to a written decision from the tax commissioner
regarding the classification or taxability of such property with
respect to this tax year. The decision by the tax commissioner
shall be issued only when such property owner completes and files
with the tax commissioner by United States mail, on or before the
first day of August of this year, a written protest of the
assessment, as it relates to the classification or taxability of
the property, on a uniform printed form prepared by the tax
commissioner and made available at the assessor's office, or on
a form substantially similar thereto. In the event that the
property owner shall also desire to protest the assessed valuation of any of his or her property, he or she must, in
addition to seeking the review described in this paragraph, also
seek the review described in paragraph A. above.
If any person receiving this notice fails to apply for
relief to the tax commissioner in the manner herein provided, he
or she shall have waived his or her right to ask for correction
of the classification or taxability of the property for the tax
year, and shall not thereafter be permitted to obtain
administrative or judicial review of the correctness of such
classification or taxability for the tax year.
AVAILABILITY OF GENERAL ASSESSMENT INFORMATION
There is available for inspection in the assessor's office,
during regular business hours, general assessment information
including, but not limited to, the appraised valuation, assessed
valuation, assessment ratios, classification and taxability of
each and every property in the county, and the same information
with respect to the immediately preceding year's assessments.
PROCEDURES BY WHICH LEVY (TAX) RATES ARE SET
The levy (tax) rate applied to the assessed value of
property is a composite of the levy rate set by each levying body in the county with jurisdiction to tax that property. Each
levying body makes its levy estimate, or sets the levy rate,
annually in public meetings held between the seventh and
twenty-eighth day of March of the tax year. See the county
commission, board of education and/or municipality for the
scheduling of such meetings."
If any property identified in such notice consists of
identifiably separate items, lots, tracts or parcels of land, or
contains improvements on any such items, lot, tract or parcel,
the appraised and assessed valuation and the classification and
taxability, shall be disclosed with respect to each such item,
lot, tract or parcel and improvement thereon.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, in the event of a failure to give the notice required
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, when mailing to the
property owner the tax bill with respect to which the notice is
required, that property owner shall not be required, in order to
be entitled to judicial review of the assessment by the circuit
court, pursuant to section twenty-five of this article, to comply
with the provisions of section twenty-five of this article, relating to appearing before the county commission sitting as a
board of review to protest the assessment, but may comply with
such provisions at his or her election.
(c) The tax commissioner shall prepare and forward to the
assessors a uniform printed form of a notice which shall be
published by the assessors in June of each year as a retail
display advertisement, as opposed to, and other than, a legal and
classified advertisement, to be published in every newspaper of
general circulation within the county which shall be in the
following form:
"NOTICE
RIGHT TO ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
A. Any owner of property subject to tax who shall timely
complete and file a written protest as provided herein, shall be
entitled to a hearing before the county commission sitting as a
board of review from the twentieth day of July to the fifteenth
day of August of this year, to protest the proposed assessed
valuation of such property, as entered in the property books by
the assessor, for use in imposing property taxes in this tax
year. However, in no case shall any question of taxability or classification be considered by the county commission. (See
paragraph B. below.) Such hearing shall be allowed only when
such property owner shall have completed and filed in the office
of the clerk of the county commission, either personally or by
United States mail, on or before the first day of August of this
year, a written protest of the proposed assessed valuation on a
uniform printed form prepared by the tax commissioner and made
available upon request at such clerk's office, or on a form
substantially similar thereto. Upon receipt of such written
protest, the clerk of the county commission shall assign a time
for the hearing and shall notify the property owner of such time.
In the event that the property owner shall also desire to object
to the proposed classification or taxability of any of his or her
property, he or she must, in addition to seeking the review
described by this paragraph, also seek the review described by
paragraph B. below.
B. At any time after property is returned for taxation and
prior to the first day of July of the tax year, any taxpayer is
entitled to request and to obtain, within five days after making
such request, from the assessor a written determination of the proposed classification or taxability of his or her property. In
case the taxpayer is dissatisfied with the proposed
classification or taxability of his or her property, he or she
shall file his or her objections in writing with the assessor no
later than the fifteenth day of July of the tax year. The
assessor shall decide the question by either sustaining the
objection and making proper corrections, or by stating, in
writing if requested, the reasons for his or her refusal to
sustain the objection. The assessor may, and if the taxpayer
requests, the assessor shall, certify the question to the state
tax commissioner in a statement sworn to by both parties, or if
the parties are unable to agree, in separate sworn statements, no
later than the first day of August of the tax year, giving a full
description of the property and any other information which the
tax commissioner may require. The tax commissioner shall
prescribe forms on which the aforesaid questions shall be
certified and he or she shall have the authority to pursue any
inquiry and procure any information which may be necessary for
the disposition of the issue.
AVAILABILITY OF GENERAL ASSESSMENT INFORMATION
There is available for inspection in the assessor's office,
during regular business hours, general assessment information
including, but not limited to, the appraised valuation, assessed
valuation, assessment ratios, classification and taxability of
each and every property in the county, and the same information
with respect to the immediately preceding year's assessments.
PROCEDURES BY WHICH LEVY (TAX) RATES ARE SET
The levy (tax) rate applied to the assessed value of
property is a composite of the levy rate set by each levying body
in the county with jurisdiction to tax that property. Each
levying body makes its levy estimate, or sets the levy rate,
annually in public meetings held between the seventh day of March
and the twenty-eighth day of March of the tax year. See the
county commission, board of education and/or municipality for the
scheduling of such meetings."
Such advertisement shall be of a size sufficient to be
readily visible and apparent to the readers of such newspaper and
shall be at least fifteen column inches or its equivalent and
shall appear in each newspaper in some portion thereof other than
that portion devoted to legal and classified advertising. The assessor shall solicit the running of such advertisement as a
public service or at a reduced cost, but, in any event, the cost
of such advertisement shall be paid for out of the county
treasury with funds appropriated for that purpose. Such
advertisement shall be published at least three times between the
first and last day of June in every year, but no more often than
once a week during such period, and shall be published the third
and final time no earlier than the twenty-first day of June or,
in the case of weekly newspapers, the edition next preceding that
date. The advertisements required to be published by the
provisions of this section shall not include the name of the tax
commissioner or of any other public official or employee, whether
elected or appointed, and such person may be referred to in such
advertisements, if at all, by their title or office only.
(b) (d) During the initial reappraisal of all property under
section seven, article one-c of this chapter, the tax
commissioner and each county assessor shall send every person
owning or controlling property appraised by the tax commissioner
or the county assessor, as the case may be, a pamphlet which
explains the reappraisal process and its equalization goal in a detailed yet informal manner. The property valuation training
and procedures commission, created under section three, article
one-c of this chapter, shall design the pamphlet for use in all
counties while allowing individual county information to be
included if it determines that the information would improve
understanding of the process.
§11-3-2b. Ext
ension of time for making reports and amendment of
reports.
(a) The assessor to whom a report listing property must be
made, may grant a reasonable extension of time for making the
reports required by sections two, twelve and fifteen of this
article, upon written request of the property owner made and
filed with the assessor prior to the time fixed for making such
report, upon such terms and conditions as the assessor may
reasonably require:
Provided, That no such extension shall
exceed sixty days.
(b) The property owner shall be entitled to amend any report
listing property as required by section two, twelve or fifteen of
this article by filing with the assessor, to whom the original
report was required to be made, a report designated as an amended
report within thirty days from the due date, or any extension thereof, of the original report, and may amend any such report
subsequent to thirty days from the due date, or any extension
thereof, of the original report, only upon permission of the
assessor to whom the original report was made, on such terms and
conditions as the assessor may reasonably require.
§11-3-2c. Notice of requirements for making returns and reports
and notice of penalties for noncompliance.
Each and every assessor shall, in the month of August in
each year, prepare and publish a notice, which shall provide
information describing the requirements for making of returns or
reports of property subject to tax contained in this article and
in article one-c of this chapter, and describing each and every
penalty that may be imposed on the property owner for failure to
comply with such filing requirements, as a retail display
advertisement, as opposed to, and other than, a legal and
classified advertisement, to be published in every newspaper of
general circulation within the county. Such advertisement shall
be of a size sufficient to be readily visible and apparent to the
readers of such newspaper and shall be at least fifteen column
inches or its equivalent and shall appear in each newspaper in
some portion thereof other than that portion devoted to legal and classified advertising. The assessor shall solicit the running
of such advertisement as a public service or at a reduced cost,
but, in any event, the cost of such advertisement shall be paid
for out of the county treasury with funds appropriated for that
purpose. Such advertisement shall be published at least three
times between the first and last day of August in every year, but
no more often than once a week during such period, and shall be
published the third and final time no earlier than the
twenty-first day of August or, in the case of weekly newspapers,
the edition next preceding that date. The advertisements
required to be published by the provisions of this section shall
not include the name of the tax commissioner or of any other
public official or employee, whether elected or appointed, and
such person may be referred to in such advertisements, if at all,
by their title or office only.
§11-3-3a. Building or real property improvement notice; notice
filed with assessors; when not required; penalties
.
Any person, corporation, association or other owner of real
property, subject to the payment of property tax, who shall
hereafter erect any building or structure, or who shall add to
enlarge, move, alter, convert, extend, raze or demolish any building or structure, whereby the value of the said real
property shall be improved more than one thousand dollars, shall
give notice in writing to the assessor within sixty days after
the commencement of the improvement of such property. The notice
shall be given upon such forms as may be prescribed by the tax
commissioner who shall furnish the same to assessors. The notice
shall contain the following information: (1) A statement that
improvements are being or have been made; (2) the location or
address of the property; and (3) the name of the owner or owners
of the property. The information contained in such notice shall
be advisory in nature and may be used by the assessor in
performing his
or her duties as otherwise provided by law:
Provided, however, That a report made by or on behalf of any
mine, mill, factory, or other industrial establishment and filed
with the assessor on or before
June fifteen the fifteenth day of
June which discloses with certainty any construction, or
improvement made during the previous twelve months, shall be
deemed compliance with this section:
And provided further
Provided, however, That within the area of any municipality where
a building permit has been obtained prior to beginning such work, the delivery of a copy of the building permit to the assessor by
the owner or the issuing authority shall be sufficient notice
under this section. Any person who shall violate the provisions
of this section shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than ten dollars nor
more than forfeit one two hundred dollars.
in the discretion of
the court. Justices of the peace shall have concurrent
jurisdiction with other courts having jurisdiction for the trial
of all misdemeanors arising under this section.
§11-3-10. Failure to list property, etc.; collection of
penalties and forfeitures.
(a) If any person, firm or corporation, including public
service corporations whose duty it is by law to list any real
estate or personal property for taxation, shall
fail or refuse to
furnish a proper list thereof or refuse to list within the time
required by law,
including lawful extensions of that time, or if
any person, firm or corporation, including public service
corporations, shall
fail or refuse to answer or shall answer
falsely any question asked by the assessor or by the tax
commissioner, or shall fail or refuse to deliver any statement,
return or report required by law, he
or she or it shall,
in the case of each such failure or refusal, forfeit
not less than
twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars, and,
in
circumstances in which a person, firm or corporation refuses to,
timely and otherwise, furnish a proper list, or answer any
question or deliver any statement, return or report required by
law, such person, firm or corporation shall be denied all remedy
provided by law for the correction of any assessment made by the
assessor or by the board of public works.
(b) If any person, firm or corporation, including public
service corporations, required by law to make return
or report of
property for taxation, whether such return
or report is to be
made to the
tax commissioner, the assessor, the board of public
works or any other assessing officer or body, fails
or refuses to
return a true list of all property which should be assessed in
this state, including notes, bonds, bills and accounts
receivable, stocks, and any other intangible personal property,
such person, firm or corporation, in addition to all other
penalties provided by law, shall forfeit one percent of the
assessed value of the property not yet returned and not otherwise
taxed in this state:
Provided, That, within the discretion of the officer to whom the return or report is to be made, such
forfeiture as to any property may be abated, in whole or in part,
upon written request of such person, firm or corporation made
within thirty days of receipt of written notice of such
forfeiture, and upon a finding by such officer that the failure
to return a true list of such property was due to reasonable
cause and not to negligence or intentional disregard of
applicable provisions of law. A forfeiture as to all property
aforesaid may be enforced for any such default occurring in any
year not exceeding five years immediately prior to the time the
same is discovered.
but no liability to penalty or forfeiture as
to notes, bonds, bills and accounts receivable, stocks and other
intangible personal property arising prior to the first day of
January, one thousand nine hundred thirty-three, shall be
enforceable on behalf of the state or any of its subdivisions
Each failure to make a true return
or report as herein required
shall constitute a separate offense, and a forfeiture shall apply
to each of them, but all such forfeitures to which the same
person, firm or corporation is liable, shall be enforced in one
proceeding against such person, firm or corporation, or against the estate of any deceased person and shall not exceed five
percent of the value of the property not returned. Such
forfeitures shall be collected as is hereinafter provided under
the provision of article two, chapter eleven-a of this code, the
same as any tax liability, against the defaulting taxpayer, or in
case of a decedent, against his
or her personal representative.
The sheriff shall apportion such fund among the state, county,
district, school district and municipalities which would have
been entitled to the taxes upon such property if it had been
assessed, in proportion to the rates of taxation for each such
levying unit for the year in which the judgment was obtained
bears to the sum of rates for all. When the list of property
returned by the appraisers of the estate of any deceased person
shows an amount greater than the last assessment list of such
deceased person next preceding the appraisal of his
or her
estate, it shall be prima facie evidence that such deceased
person returned an imperfect list of his
or her property:
Provided, That any person liable for the tax or his
or her
personal representative, may always be permitted to prove by
competent evidence that the discrepancy between such assessment list and the appraisal of the estate is caused by a difference of
valuation returned by the assessor and that made by the
appraisers of the same property or by property acquired after
assessment, or that any property enumerated in the appraisers'
list had been otherwise listed for taxation, or that it was not
liable for taxation. Any judgment recovered under this section
shall be a lien from the time of the service of the notice, upon
all real estate and personal property of such defaulting
taxpayer, owned at the time or subsequently acquired, in
preference to any other lien.
(c)
Notice of the applicability of the denial of all remedy
and of the imposition of such penalties and forfeitures, as
described in this section, shall be given by the assessor by the
publication of a notice as a retail display advertisement, as
opposed to, and other than, a legal and classified advertisement,
to be published in every newspaper of general circulation within
the county which shall be in the following form:
"NOTICE
If any person, firm or corporation, including public service
corporations, whose duty it is by law to list any real estate or personal property for taxation, shall fail or refuse to list
within the time required by law, including lawful extensions of
that time, or if any person, firm or corporation, including
public service corporations, shall fail or refuse to answer or
shall answer falsely any question asked by the assessor or by the
tax commissioner or by the board of public works, or shall fail
or refuse to deliver any statement, return or report required by
law, he, she or it, in the case of each such failure or refusal,
shall forfeit one hundred dollars, and, in circumstances in which
a person, firm or corporation refuses to, timely and otherwise,
furnish a proper list, or answer any question or deliver any
statement, return or report required by law, such person, firm or
corporation shall be denied all remedy provided by law for the
correction of any assessment made by the assessor or by the board
of public works.
If any person, firm or corporation, including public service
corporations, required by law to make return or report of
property for taxation, whether such return or report is to be
made to the tax commissioner, the assessor, the board of public
works or any other assessing officer or body, fails or refuses to return a true list of all property which should be assessed in
this state, including notes, bonds, bills and accounts
receivable, stocks, and any other intangible personal property,
such person, firm or corporation, in addition to all other
penalties provided by law, shall forfeit one percent of the
assessed value of the property not yet returned and not otherwise
taxed in this state."
Such advertisement shall be of a size sufficient to be
readily visible and apparent to the readers of such newspaper and
shall be at least fifteen column inches or its equivalent and
shall appear in each newspaper in some portion thereof other that
portion devoted to legal and classified advertising. The
assessor shall solicit the running of such advertisement as a
public service or at a reduced cost, but, in any event, the cost
of such advertisement shall be paid for out of the county
treasury with funds appropriated for that purpose. Such
advertisement shall be published at least three times between the
first and last day of August in every year, but no more often
than once a week during such period, and shall be published a
third and final time no earlier than the twenty-first day of August or, in the case of weekly newspapers, the edition next
preceding that date. The advertisements required to be published
by the provisions of this section shall not include the name of
the tax commissioner or of any other public official or employee,
whether elected or appointed, and such person may be referred to
in such advertisements, if at all, by their title or office only.
§11-3-11. Making or correction of list by assessor.
If any person fails to furnish a proper list, or if the list
furnished be, in the judgment of the assessor, incomplete or
erroneous in any respect, the assessor shall proceed to list the
property and assess its value, or to supply the omission and
correct the errors, upon the best information he
or she can
obtain, and for that purpose the assessor may call upon any
officer of the state, county, or district for such proper
information as it may be in his
or her power to give, and may
require any person having possession, charge or control of any
property in the county to permit him
or her to examine the same
in order that a fair valuation thereof may be made, and if any
person refuses to do so, he
or she shall forfeit
not less than
ten nor more than fifty dollars one hundred dollars.
§11-3-24. Equalization of proposed assessments by county
commission
.
(a)(1)The county commission shall annually, not later than
the first day of February, meet for the purpose of
reviewing and
equalizing the
assessment made assessments proposed by the
assessor. It shall not adjourn for longer than three days at a
time until this work is completed,
and shall not remain in
session for a longer period than twenty-eight days and shall not
adjourn sine die before the
fifteenth twenty-eighth day of
February. At the first meeting, the assessor shall submit the
property books for the current year, which shall be complete in
every particular, except that the levies shall not be extended.
The assessor and his
or her assistants shall attend and render
every assistance possible in connection with the value of
property assessed by them. The
county commission shall proceed
to examine
and review the property books, and shall add on the
books the names of persons, the value of personal property and
the description and value of real estate liable to assessment
which was omitted by the assessor. They shall correct all errors
in the names of persons, in the description and valuation of
property, and they shall cause to be done whatever else may be necessary to make the valuation comply with the provisions of
this chapter. But in no case shall any question of
classification or taxability be considered.
or reviewed
(2) If the
county commission
determine determines that any
property
or interest is assessed at more or less than its true
and actual value, it shall fix it at the true and actual value.
But no assessment shall be increased without giving If the
county commission intends to so fix the assessed valuation of any
property in an amount more than the assessed valuation for that
property proposed by the assessor, the county commission shall
deliver to the property owner
at least five days' notice, in
writing, and signed by the president of the
county commission, of
the intention to make the increase,
which notice shall be
delivered to the property owner at least five days prior to the
action of the county commission in making the increase and in no
event later than the twentieth day of February. Such notice
shall be provided by the county commission on uniform printed
forms prepared and forwarded to the county commission by the tax
commissioner. The notice shall contain the information
hereinbefore required, and shall also set forth the following information with respect to the property in the form shown or as
near thereto as may be practicable:
"NOTICE
ATTENTION:The county commission of this county has proposed AN
INCREASE IN THE ASSESSED VALUATION of one or more of
your properties greater than the valuation proposed
by the assessor for that item. This INCREASED
ASSESSED VALUATION is proposed to be the assessed
valuation of such property for purposes of imposition
of the property tax for this tax year.
IDENTIFICATION OF INCREASE
The following information is provided in order to assist you
in identifying the increase described above and the property to
which such increase is proposed to be made:
REAL PROPERTY
Property Identification:
Last Year This Year
1.Appraised Valuation:
$ $
Land:$
$
Improvement:$
$
2. Assessed Valuation:
$
$
Land:
$
$ Improvement:
$
$
PERSONAL PROPERTY
Property Identification
Last Year
This Year
1.Appraised Valuation:
$ $
2. Assessed Valuation:
$
$
RIGHT TO ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
Any owner of property subject to tax who shall timely
complete and file the written protest as provided herein, shall
be entitled to a hearing before the county commission sitting as
a board of equalization in February of this year to protest the
increased assessed valuation of such property, as proposed by the
county commission. However, in no case shall any question of
taxability or classification be considered. Such hearing shall
be allowed only when such property owner shall have completed and
filed in the office of the clerk of the county commission, either
personally or by United States mail, on or before the
twenty-sixth day of February of the assessment year, a written
protest of the assessed valuation on a uniform printed form
prepared by the tax commissioner and made available upon request
at such clerk's office, or on a form substantially similar
thereto. Upon receipt of such written protest the clerk of the county commission shall assign a time for the hearing and shall
notify the property owner of such time."
Service upon Delivery to the property owner shall be
sufficient, or
upon to his
or her agent or attorney in person, or
if sent by
registered United States certified mail to such
property owner, his
or her agent, or attorney, at the last known
place of abode. If he
or she be not found and have no known
place of abode, then notice shall be given by publication thereof
as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the
provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and
the publication area of such publication shall be the county.
The date of the publication shall be at least five days prior to
the increase.
(3) When it is desired to increase the entire valuation in
any one district by a general increase,
the notice to any
affected property owners required as above shall not be required,
and notice
of the general increase shall be given by publication
thereof as a
Class II-0 legal advertisement in compliance with
the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this Code,
and the publication area for such publication shall be the county retail display advertisement, as opposed to, and other than, a
legal and classified advertisement, to be published in every
newspaper of general circulation within the county which shall be
in the following form:
"NOTICE
The county commission of this county has proposed a general
increase in the assessed valuation of the entire valuation of all
properties in the Districts of ________________________ in this
county. The general increase is proposed to be used for the
imposition of property taxes this year and is in the amount of
_________ percent.
RIGHT TO ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
Any owner of property subject to tax who shall timely
complete and file the written protest as provided herein, shall
be entitled to a hearing before the county commission sitting as
a board of equalization in February to protest the increased
assessed valuation of such property, as proposed by the county
commission. However, in no case shall any question of taxability
or classification be considered. Such hearing shall be allowed
only when such property owner shall have completed and filed in the office of the clerk of the county commission, either
personally or by United States mail, on or before the twentieth
day of February of the assessment year, a written protest of the
assessed valuation on a uniform printed form prepared by the tax
commissioner and made available upon request at such clerk's
office, or on a form substantially similar thereto. Upon receipt
of such written protest the clerk of the county commission shall
assign a time for the hearing and shall notify the property owner
of such time."
Such advertisement shall be of a size sufficient to be
readily visible and apparent to the readers of such newspaper and
shall be at least fifteen column inches or its equivalent and
shall appear in each newspaper in some portion thereof other than
that portion devoted to legal and classified advertising. The
county commission shall solicit the running of such advertisement
as a public service or at a reduced cost, but, in any event, the
cost of such advertisement shall be paid for by the county
commission out of the county treasury. Such advertisement shall
be published at least two times between the first and fifteenth
day of February, but no more often than once a week during such period, and shall be published the second and final time no
earlier than the tenth day of February or, in the case of weekly
newspapers, the edition next preceding that date. The
advertisements required to be published by the provisions of this
section shall not include the name of the tax commissioner or of
any other public official or employee, whether elected or
appointed, and such person may be referred to in such
advertisements, if at all, by their title or office only. The
date of the last publication shall be at least five days prior to
the increase in valuation. When an increase is made, the same
valuation shall not again be changed unless notice is again given
as heretofore provided.
(b)The clerk of the county commission shall
publish notice of the time, place and general purpose of the
meeting
as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the
provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this Code, and
the publication area for such publication shall be the county
involved. The expense of publication shall be paid out of the
county treasury of the county commission sitting as a board of
equalization pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, including the opportunity of all persons to appear before the
county commission to comment or object to the proposed
assessments made by the assessor. Such notice shall be published
in January of each year as a retail display advertisement, as
opposed to, and other than, a legal and classified advertisement,
to be published in every newspaper of general circulation within
the county which shall be in the following form:
"NOTICE
The County Commission of this county will meet beginning the
first day of February of this year as a board of equalization for
purposes of equalizing the proposed assessments of property made
by the assessor. The County Commission, sitting as a board of
equalization, will not adjourn earlier than the twenty-eighth day
of February of this year. The County Commission will meet as a
board of equalization in the chambers of the County Commission
located in the county courthouse of this county which is located
at _______________________________. Any person who shall so
desire, may attend and appear before the board of equalization to
comment on or object to the assessed valuation of any such
property, as entered in the property books by the assessor."
Such advertisement shall be of a size sufficient to be
readily visible and apparent to the readers of such newspaper and
shall be at least fifteen column inches or its equivalent and
shall appear in each newspaper in some portion thereof other than
that portion devoted to legal and classified advertising. The
county commission shall solicit the running of such advertisement
as a public service or at a reduced cost, but, in any event, the
cost of such advertisement shall be paid for out of the county
treasury with funds appropriated for that purpose. Such
advertisement shall be published at least three times between the
first and last day of January in every year, but no more often
than once a week during such period, and shall be published the
third and final time no earlier than the twenty-first day of
January or, in the case of weekly newspapers, the edition next
preceding that date. The advertisements required to be published
by the provisions of this section shall not include the name of
the tax commissioner or of any other public official or employee,
whether elected or appointed, and such person may be referred to
in such advertisements, if at all, by their title or office only.
(c) Any owner of property subject to tax who shall timely complete and file the written protest, described in this
subsection below, shall be entitled to a hearing before the
county commission sitting as a board of equalization pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section in February to protest the
assessed valuation of such property as determined by the county
commission as provided in subsection (a) of this section.
However, in no case shall any question of taxability or
classification be considered. Such hearing shall be allowed only
when such property owner shall have completed and filed in the
office of the clerk of the county commission, either personally
or by United States mail, on or before the twenty-sixth day of
February of the tax year with respect to an individual assessed
valuation increased by the county commission pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section, or on or before the twentieth day
of February of the tax year with respect to a general increase of
assessed valuations in any one district proposed by the county
commission, a written protest of the assessed valuation on a
uniform printed form prepared by the tax commissioner and made
available upon request at such clerk's office, or on a form
substantially similar thereto. Such form shall require the property owner, or his or her duly authorized agent having
knowledge of the facts, to verify under oath the information
contained therein, to set forth with particularity the assessed
valuation objected to together with the reasons for the
objections, and to set forth with particularity the assessed
valuation which he or she contends is the true and actual value
of the property. Upon receipt of such written protest the clerk
of the county commission shall assign a time for the hearing and
shall notify the property owner of such time. In the event that
the property owner shall also desire to object to the
classification or taxability of any of his or her property, he or
she must, in addition to seeking the review provided by this
subsection, also seek the review provided by section
twenty-four-a of this article.
(d) If any person fails to
apply for relief at this meeting
appear before the county commission sitting as a board of
equalization pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, he
or
she shall
not have waived his
or her right to ask for correction
of his
or her assessment list assessed valuation for the current
year, and shall
not thereafter
nonetheless be permitted to
question obtain administrative review of the correctness of
his
list the assessed valuation of any such property as finally fixed
by the county commission,
except on appeal to the circuit court
as provided by section twenty-four-c of this article.
(e) If any person applies for relief before the county
commission sitting as a board of equalization pursuant to
subsection (c) of this section, and the county commission issues
a written decision pursuant thereto, he or she shall,
nevertheless, still be entitled to further administrative review
of the assessment by the county commission sitting as a board of
review pursuant to section twenty-four-c of this article.
Moreover, no person shall be required, in order to be entitled to
judicial review of the assessment by the circuit court pursuant
to section twenty-five of this article, to have complied with the
provisions of this section.
(f) After the county commission completes the
review and
equalization of the property books, a majority of the commission
shall sign a statement that it is the completed assessment of the
county for the year; then the property books shall be delivered
to the assessor and the levies extended as provided by law.
§11-3-24a. Determination of taxability or classification by
assessor and tax commissioner.
(a) At any time after property is returned for taxation and
up to and including the time the property books are before the
county court for equalization and review any taxpayer
may apply
to is entitled to request and to obtain, within five business
days after making such request, from the assessor,
for
information regarding a written determination of the
proposed
classification
and or taxability of his
or her property. In case
the taxpayer is dissatisfied with the
proposed classification
or
taxability of
his or her property,
assessed to him or believes
that such property is exempt or otherwise not subject to taxation
he
or she shall file his
or her objections in writing with the
assessor
no later than the fifteenth day of July of the tax year.
The assessor shall decide the question by either sustaining the
protest objection and making proper corrections, or by stating,
in writing if requested, the reasons for his
or her refusal
to
sustain the objection. The assessor may, and if the taxpayer
requests, the assessor shall, certify the question to the state
tax commissioner in a statement sworn to by both parties, or if
the parties are unable to agree, in separate sworn statements,
no later than the first day of August of the tax year, giving a full
description of the property and any other information which the
tax commissioner may require.
The tax commissioner shall
prescribe forms on which the aforesaid questions shall be
certified and he or she shall have the authority to pursue any
inquiry and procure any information which may be necessary for
the disposition of the issue.
The tax commissioner shall, as soon as possible on receipt
of the question, but in no case later than
February twenty-eighth
the thirtieth day of August of the
assessment tax year, instruct
the assessor as to how the property shall be treated
for
taxability or classification purposes. The instructions issued
and forwarded by mail to the assessor shall be binding upon him
or her and on the taxpayer and the county commission, but either
the assessor or the taxpayer may apply to the circuit court of
the county for the review of the question of classification
and
or taxability in the same fashion as is provided for
appeals from
judicial review of the decisions of the county
court commission
on protests of assessed valuations in
subsection (a) of section
twenty-five of this article.
The tax commissioner shall prescribe forms on which the aforesaid questions shall be
certified and he shall have the authority to pursue any inquiry
and procure any information which may be necessary for the
disposition of the issue.
In the event that the property owner shall also desire to
protest the assessed valuation of any of his or her property, he
or she must, in addition to seeking the review provided by this
subsection, also seek the review provided by section
twenty-four-c of this article.
(b) If any person fails to file his or her objections with
the assessor or pursue his or her remedies provided in subsection
(a) of this section, he or she shall have waived his or her right
to seek administrative review of the taxability and
classification of his or her property or interest for that tax
year, and shall not thereafter be permitted to obtain
administrative review of the correctness of such taxability or
classification, as determined by the assessor.
(c) The instruction of the tax commissioner as to the
treatment of the property for taxability and classification
purposes shall become final and conclusive and not subject to further administrative or judicial review, unless the property
owner or the assessor shall properly and timely seek review of
such instruction in the same fashion as is provided for judicial
review of the decisions of the county commission in subsection
(a), section twenty-five of this article.
§11-3-24b. Relief in county commission from erroneous
assessments due to clerical error or mistake.
Any taxpayer, or the prosecuting attorney or tax
commissioner, upon behalf of the state, county and districts,
claiming to be aggrieved by any entry in the property books of
the county, including entries with respect to classification or
taxability of property, resulting from a clerical error, or a
mistake occasioned by an unintentional or inadvertent act as
distinguished from a mistake growing out of negligence or the
exercise of poor judgment, may, within one year from the time the
property books are delivered to the sheriff or within one year
from the time such clerical error or mistake is discovered or
reasonably could have been discovered, apply for relief to the
county commission of the county in which such books are made out:
Provided, That upon the discovery of any such clerical error or
mistake by the sheriff or the assessor, or either officer having knowledge thereof, the sheriff or assessor shall cause notice to
be sent to any taxpayer affected by the clerical error or mistake
by United States mail advising the taxpayer of the right to make
application for relief from the erroneous assessment. Before the
application is heard, the taxpayer shall give notice to the
prosecuting attorney of the county, or the state shall give
notice to the taxpayer, as the case may be. The application,
whether by the taxpayer or the state, shall have precedence over
all other business before the county commission; but any order or
judgment shall show that either the prosecuting attorney or the
tax commissioner was present defending the interests of the
state, county and districts:
Provided, however, That the
provisions of this section shall not be construed as giving
county commissions jurisdiction to consider any question
involving the classification or taxability of property which has
been the subject matter of an appeal under the provisions of
section twenty-four-a of this article, and any other such
clerical error or mistake involving the classification or
taxability of property, may be corrected by the county commission
under the provisions of this section only when approved, in writing, by the county assessor.
In the event it is ascertained that the applicant is
entitled to relief, any excess taxes already paid shall, except
to the extent provided to the contrary by subsection (c) of
section twenty-six, be refunded and, if charged but not paid, the
applicant shall be released from the payment of such excess:
Provided, That in the event a mistake or error is discovered more
than one year after the property books for the year or years in
question are delivered to the sheriff, any relief granted to the
applicant shall be in the form of a credit against taxes owing
for the following year or years until the debt is paid. Whenever
any correction is made by the county commission, the clerk shall
certify copies of the order to the auditor, to the sheriff and to
the assessor, and in the case of real estate, the assessor shall
thereupon make a correction in accordance with the order in his
or her land book for the next year. Any such order delivered to
the sheriff or other collecting officer shall restrain him or her
from collecting so much as is erroneously charged against the
taxpayer, and, if already collected, shall compel him or her to
refund the money if such officer has not already paid it into the treasury. In either case, when indorsed by the person
exonerated, it shall be sufficient voucher to entitle the officer
to a credit for so much in his or her settlement which he or she
is required to make. If the applicant be the state, the order
certified to the sheriff shall show the correct amount of taxes
due the state, county and districts and shall be sufficient to
authorize collection in the same manner as for other state,
county and district taxes.
§11-3-24c. Review of assessments by county commission.
(a) The county commission shall annually, not later than the
twentieth day of July, meet for the purpose of reviewing the
assessment made with respect to the current tax year of the
property of any property owner who shall have timely protested
such assessment. The county commission shall not adjourn for
longer than three days at a time until this work is completed and
shall not adjourn sine die before the fifteenth day of August or
before the county commission shall have issued written decisions
on all assessments protested, whichever is later.
(b) Any owner of property subject to tax who shall properly
and timely complete and file the written protest as provided
herein, shall be entitled to a hearing before the county commission, sitting as a board of review pursuant to subsection
(a) of this section, in any year to protest the assessment of
such property with respect to that tax year. However, in no case
shall any question of classification or taxability be considered
or reviewed. Such hearing shall be allowed only when such
property owner shall have completed and filed in the office of
the clerk of the county commission, either personally or by
United States mail, on or before the first day of August of the
tax year, a written protest of the assessment on a uniform
printed form prepared by the tax commissioner and made available
upon request at such clerk's office, or on a form substantially
similar thereto. Such form shall require the property owner, or
his or her duly authorized agent having knowledge of the facts,
to verify under oath the information contained therein, to set
forth with particularity the items of the assessment objected to
together with the reasons for the objections, to set forth with
particularity the assessed valuation which he or she contends is
the true and actual value of each property, the assessment of
which is protested, and the basis for such contention, to
indicate whether he or she or their duly authorized agent has timely and properly sought the informal conference with the
assessor with respect to the assessment, as provided for in
section twenty-four-e of this article, and whether he or she or
his or her duly authorized agent has participated in such a
conference or has made all reasonable efforts to participate in
such a conference, and, if not, the reason therefor. Upon
receipt of such written protest, the clerk of the county
commission shall assign a time for the hearing and shall notify
the property owner of such time. In the event that the property
owner shall also desire to object to the classification or
taxability of any of his or her property, he or she must, in
addition to seeking the review provided by this subsection, also
seek the review provided by section twenty-four-a of this
article.
(c) Unless he or she timely seeks relief from the assessment
pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-four-b of this
article, if any person fails to apply for relief before the
county commission sitting as a board of review pursuant to
subsection (b) of this section, he or she shall have waived his
or her right to seek administrative or judicial review of his or her assessed valuation for the tax year, and he or she shall not
thereafter be permitted to obtain administrative or judicial
review of the correctness of such assessed valuation:
Provided,
That any person entitled to any notice required by subsection
(b), section two-a of this article, who was not given such
notice, shall not have waived his or her said rights, and he or
she shall thereafter be permitted to seek the remedy provided by
subsection (b) of this section, or the remedy provided by section
twenty-five of this article, or both, at his or her election.
§11-3-24d. Procedure and burden of proof before county
commission and review of decision of county
commission.
(a) The hearings held pursuant to subsection (c) of section
twenty-four, or to section twenty-four-b or to subsection (b),
section twenty-four-c of this article, before the county
commission, shall be informal and shall be conducted in an
impartial manner, but the West Virginia Rules of Evidence and the
West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure shall not apply.
(b) The clerk of the county commission shall ensure that a
true and complete record of the testimony at any such hearing be
made by a nonstenographic electronic recording device of sufficient quality and reliability to provide such record, shall
ensure that any and all exhibits are properly marked and included
as part of the record, and shall ensure that any and all
witnesses are properly sworn to tell the truth.
(c) It shall be rebuttably presumed in any such hearing that
the assessed valuation, as entered in the property books by the
assessor as provided by section nineteen of this article, or as
determined by the county commission as provided in subsection
(a), section twenty-four of this article, or on which an
assessment is based, is based on the true and actual value of the
property. The party protesting the assessment shall have the
burden of proof to show that such assessment is erroneous and to
establish the correct true and actual value of the property.
(d) The county commission may in its discretion assign one
of its members to conduct such hearing in the case of any protest
wherein the assessed valuation of the property involved is less
than fifty thousand dollars. The commissioner so assigned shall,
as a result of the conduct of such hearing, make a recommendation
in writing to the county commission as to the decision on the
matter in a timely manner so as to allow the issuance of a written decision as to such protest by the county commission in
compliance with subsection (e) of this section.
(e) The county commission shall issue a written decision as
to all matters before it, when sitting either as a board of
equalization or as a board of review, prior to adjournment as
such boards. The decision of the county commission as to such
matters shall become final and conclusive and not subject to
either further administrative or judicial review, unless the
property owner shall properly and timely seek review of such
decision as provided by section twenty-five of this article:
Provided, That a property owner who shall have failed to seek
review pursuant to section twenty-five of this article of a
decision of the county commission sitting as a board of
equalization made pursuant to subsection (c), section twenty-four
of this article, shall not have waived his or her right to seek
administrative review pursuant to section twenty-four-c of this
article or judicial review pursuant to section twenty-five of
this article.
§11-3-24e. Correction of assessment as a result of informal
conference with the assessor.
(a) In addition to seeking a hearing before the county commission, sitting as a board of equalization or of review, to
protest the assessed valuation of his or her property as provided
in sections twenty-four and twenty-four-c of this article, a
property owner, or his or her duly authorized agent, may, at his
or her election, also request, in writing, on or before the
twentieth day of February of the assessment year, an informal
conference with the assessor concerning the assessment. At the
request of the property owner or his or her duly authorized
agent, and upon permission granted by the assessor, the
conference may be held by means of telephone conference call or
by similar electronic communications means by which all persons
participating in the conference can hear and speak to each other.
The assessor shall maintain a record of the conference, and
shall, in his or her sound discretion, request the county
commission, pursuant to this section, to order any changes to the
assessment he or she deems appropriate based on the information
provided in the conference:
Provided, That participation in any
such informal conference shall not be required to entitle any
person to administrative or judicial review of any assessment
pursuant to any other section of this article, and such participation, alone, shall not entitle any person to such
review.
(b) Whenever the assessor shall participate in an informal
conference regarding the assessed value or classification or
taxability of any property, and, as a result of the information
received, in that conference, he or she agrees that a change
should be made in the assessment based on such assessed values,
classification or taxability, he or she shall request an order of
the county commission approving such change.
(c) The county commission, when presented with the
assessor's request for a change in an assessment as provided in
the preceding subsection, shall either enter an order approving
such change or defer action on the assessor's request pending the
disposition by the commission of any action, initiated by the
owner of the property being assessed, seeking administrative
review of the assessment pursuant to any other section of this
article.
§11-3-25. Relief in circuit court against erroneous
proposed
assessment and erroneous assessment.
(a) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by any assessment
in any land or personal property book of any county who shall have appeared and contested the
assessed valuation
or whose
assessment has been raised by the county court above the
assessment fixed by the assessor before the county commission
sitting as a board of review pursuant to section twenty-four-c of
this article, or who shall have been entitled to a notice
pursuant to section two-a or twenty-four of this article and
shall not have been given such notice, or who
shall have
contested the classification or taxability of his
or her property
pursuant to section twenty-four-a of this article, may, at any
time up to
thirty ninety days after the adjournment of the county
court commission sitting as a board of review, or after the date
of issuance of the written decision of the county commission
sitting as a board of review or the instruction of the tax
commissioner, as the case may be, whichever shall later occur,
apply for relief to file a petition for judicial review of the
decision of the county commission or of the tax commissioner in
the circuit court of the county in which such books are made out.
but he shall, before any such application is heard, give ten
days' notice to the prosecuting attorney of the county, whose
duty it shall be to attend to the interests of the State, county and district in the matter, and the prosecuting attorney shall
give at least five days' notice of such hearing to the tax
commissioner. The right of appeal from any assessment by the
county court, as hereinbefore provided, may be taken either by
the applicant or by the State, and in case the applicant, by his
agent or attorney, or the State, by its prosecuting attorney or
tax commissioner, desires to take an appeal from the decision of
the county court, the party desiring to take such an appeal shall
have the evidence taken at the hearing of the application before
the county court. If there was an appearance by or on behalf of
the owner before the county court, or if actual notice, certified
by such court, was given to the owner, the appeal, when allowed
by the court or judge, in vacation, shall be determined from the
evidence so certified. If, however, there was no actual notice
to such owner, and no appearance by or on behalf of the owner
before the county court, or if a question of classification or
taxability is presented, the matter shall be heard de novo by the
circuit court.
(b) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by any assessment,
who shall have contested an erroneous assessment due to a clerical error or mistake pursuant to section twenty-four-b of
this article, may, as provided herein, file a petition for
judicial review of the decision of the county commission, in the
circuit court of the county in which the assessment was made, at
any time up to ninety days after the date of issuance of the
written decision of the county commission.
(c) The proceedings for judicial review permitted by
subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be instituted by
either the property owner's or by the state's filing of a
petition with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in
which the assessment was, or will be made, within the time period
permitted for such petition. Such petition shall be made upon
uniform printed forms prepared by the tax commissioner and made
available at the office of the clerk of the county commission, or
upon a substantially similar form, which form shall require the
petitioner, or his or her duly authorized agent having knowledge
of the facts, to verify under oath that the information contained
therein is true and correct, to attach a copy of the decision of
the county commission or of the tax commissioner from which
relief is sought and a copy of the protest filed with the county commission or with the tax commissioner, to set forth with
particularity the items of the decision objected to together with
the reasons for such objections, and, to indicate whether the
property owner has timely and fully paid the portions of the
assessment in question as they came due and prior to such
portions becoming delinquent. Upon proper completion and timely
filing of such petition, and upon compliance with the
requirements of subsection (d) of this section, the petition
shall be heard by the circuit court. Neither the provisions of
article three of chapter fifty-eight nor the provisions of
article three of chapter fifty-three of this code shall apply to
the appeal provided herein. The clerk of the circuit court
shall, within ten days after the date the petition is filed, in
the case of a petition filed by the property owner, serve the
prosecuting attorney of the county with a copy of the petition in
person, or by United States mail, which prosecuting attorney
shall attend to the interests of the state, county and district
in the matter, and the prosecuting attorney shall provide a copy
of the petition in such manner to the tax commissioner within
five days of receipt of such petition, or in the case of a petition filed by the prosecuting attorney of the county, serve
the property owner with a copy of the same in such manner.
(d)(1) In order to be entitled to the judicial review upon
the petition as provided by subsection (a) of this section, the
property owner shall properly and timely complete and file the
petition as provided by subsection (c) of this section, and shall
have protested the proposed assessment and been issued a written
decision by the county commission pursuant to section
twenty-four-c of this article, or shall have protested the
assessment and been issued a written instruction by the tax
commissioner pursuant to section twenty-four-a of this article.
(2) In order to be entitled to the judicial review upon the
petition as provided by subsection (b) of this section, the
property owner shall properly and timely complete and file the
petition as provided by subsection (c) of this section, and shall
comply with the following prerequisites:
(A) The property owner must have protested the assessment
and been issued a written decision of the county commission
pursuant to section twenty-four-b of this article; and
(B) The property owner must have paid fully and in a timely manner the portions of the assessment in question as they come
due and prior to such portions becoming delinquent.
(e) The petition shall be heard by the circuit court de novo
without a jury and the circuit court shall determine anew all
questions submitted to it by such petition on the merits. The
West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure and the West Virginia
Rules of Evidence shall apply in such hearing as well as all
other laws or rules governing the conduct of civil actions in
circuit court and the matter shall be heard in accordance with
the general procedures of the circuit court as applied in
original civil actions before it. Either party to the petition
may, at its own expense, obtain any part or all of the record of
the administrative proceedings below and may introduce any part
or all of such record, certified by the assessor, the clerk of
the county commission or by the tax commissioner, as appropriate,
as evidence before the circuit court.
(f) Upon the request of any party in an action under this
section, and upon a showing by such party that a substantial
issue of either law or fact pertaining to the assessment in
question that was material to the decision from which relief is sought, and is common to and will expedite the resolution of a
protest or a potential protest of the assessment of a property of
the property owner with respect to a tax year or years subsequent
to the assessment year of the assessment in question, the circuit
court may, in its sound discretion, permit such party to amend
the pleadings and papers before the circuit court so as to
include the assessment in such subsequent year or years in the
consideration of the circuit court, and so that the decision of
the circuit court on the petition will also govern the assessment
of the property as to such issues in such subsequent year or
years. If the circuit court permits such amendments, the
property owner shall not be required to comply with the
provisions of subsection (c) or (d) of this section with respect
to such assessment of the property in such subsequent year or
years: Provided, That before the circuit court permits such an
amendment, the party seeking it should offer proof, satisfactory
to the circuit court, that the property owner has paid the
portions of the assessment of the property in question in such
subsequent tax year or years as they came due and prior to such
portions becoming delinquent, and shall be required to similarly show, in the event the circuit court shall, in its discretion,
permit such amendments, from time to time as the court deems
necessary, that the property owner has continued to make payment
of such portions of the said assessment as they come due and
prior to such portions becoming delinquent. In the event the
property owner shall have not made payment of any of such
portions of the assessment as they come due and prior to such
portions becoming delinquent, the circuit court shall not permit
such amendments, and in the event such amendments have been made
pursuant to previous permission of the circuit court, and it is
determined that the property owner shall not have continued to
make payment of such portions of the assessment prior to such
then becoming delinquent, such amendments shall then be struck
from the pleadings.
(g) It shall be rebuttably presumed in the hearing before
the circuit court that the decision of the county commission or
of the tax commissioner, determined the true and actual value of
the property or determined the correct classification or
taxability treatment of the property, as the case may be. The
party seeking judicial review of the decision shall have the burden of overcoming such presumption by showing by a
preponderance of the evidence that the decision of the county
commission was erroneous as to the true and actual value of the
property, or by clear and convincing evidence that the decision
of the tax commissioner did not determine the correct
classification or taxability of the property.
(h) If, upon the hearing of such appeal, it is determined
that any property has been valued at more than its true and
actual value, or illegally classified or assessed,
by the
decision of the county commission or of the tax commissioner, the
circuit court shall, by an order entered of record, correct the
assessment, and fix the
assessment of the property at its true
and actual value. A copy of such order or orders entered by the
circuit court
reducing the valuation correcting the assessment
from that determined by the county commission or tax
commissioner, shall be certified to the auditor, if the order or
orders pertain to real property, by the clerk within twenty days
after the entering of the same, and every order or judgment shall
show that the prosecuting attorney or tax commissioner was
present and defended the interest of the state, county and district. If it be ascertained that any property has been valued
too high, and that the owner has paid the excess tax, it shall be
refunded to him
or her, and if not paid he
or she shall be
relieved from the payment thereof,
both pursuant to section
twenty-six of this article. If it is ascertained that any
property is valued too low the circuit court shall, by an order
entered of record, correct the valuation and fix it at its true
and actual value. A copy of any order entered by any circuit
court increasing the valuation
of property from that determined
by the county commission or tax commissioner, shall be certified
within twenty days, if the order pertains to real property, to
the auditor, the county clerk and the sheriff; however, if the
order pertains only to personal property, then the copy shall be
certified within twenty days to the county clerk and to the
sheriff and it shall be the duty of the auditor, the county clerk
and the sheriff to charge the taxpayer affected with the increase
of taxes occasioned by the increase of valuation by applying the
rate of levies for every purpose in the district where such
property is situated for the current year. The order shall also
be filed in the office of the auditor and clerk of the county commission. Any order disposing of a question of classification
or taxability shall be similarly prepared, certified and filed,
and the increase or decrease of taxes resulting shall be treated
as provided above for changes in valuation.
(i) The state or the aggrieved taxpayer may appeal a
question of valuation to the supreme court of appeals, if the
assessed value of
all the property,
which is the direct object of
the case, is fifty thousand dollars or more, and either party may
appeal a question of classification or taxability.
§11-3-26. Contents and effect of order granting relief.
(a) Whenever the circuit court,
on appeal upon reviewing a
decision of the county commission or a decision of the tax
commissioner, pursuant to section twenty-five of this article, or
whenever the county commission in deciding a protest of an
assessment, made pursuant to section twenty-four-c of this
article, or section twenty-four-b of this article, or subsection
(c), section twenty-four of this article, or subsection (c),
section twenty-four-e of this article, respectively, or in
implementing the ruling of the tax commissioner on an objection
to the classification or taxability of a property, made pursuant
to section twenty-four-a of this article, respectively, shall grant relief to any
such applicant person against the taxes, or
any part of them, assessed against him
or her either on the land
or the personal property books
or proposed to be so assessed
against him or her, an order shall be made by such court,
or
commission, exonerating such
applicant person from the payment of
so much of such taxes as are erroneously charged
or proposed to
be charged against him
or her, if the same have not been paid;
and if paid, that the sum so erroneously charged be refunded to
him
or her except as provided by subsection (c) of this section.
(b) Such The order
required by subsection (a) of this
section, delivered to the assessor, sheriff or other collecting
officer shall restrain him
or her from collecting so much as is
erroneously charged
if the same has not been paid, and, if the
same has been already collected, shall compel him
or her to
refund the money, if such officer has not already paid it into
the treasury, and in either case, when indorsed by the person
exonerated, it shall be a sufficient voucher to entitle the
officer to a credit for so much in his
or her settlement, which
he
or she is required to make. If what was erroneously charged
and collected has been paid into the state treasury, the order of the circuit court or
commission, attested by its clerk, shall
entitle the claimant to a warrant on the state treasury for the
amount thereof, if application for the same be made to the
auditor within one year after the date of such order.
(c) Such person shall not be entitled to a refund pursuant
to this section until the order and decision of the court or
commission has become final, either by the execution and filing
of a joint certificate of agreed disposition, by the expiration
of the applicable time for review or appeal of the order and
decision, or by the issuance of an order and decision by the
court or commission which is not subject to review or appeal.
Upon the order and decision becoming final, the collecting
officer shall, except as provided by subsection (d) of this
section, refund to the person the erroneously collected taxes
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section within thirty days of
the date on which the order and decision became final, or, at the
person's election, the amount of the refund may be applied as a
credit against his or her liability for such tax in the same
county for the next succeeding tax year or years, until the
refund is made in full.
(d) In order to preserve the fiscal integrity and stability
of the counties, boards of education and municipalities affected
by any refund allowed under this section, and their budget-making
processes, at the election of the affected levying body, a refund
or a credit, including the interest thereon, in an amount in
excess of five thousand dollars or an amount equal to one percent
of the tax to be collected by the affected levying body for the
tax year, to which any person is entitled, shall be paid in three
equal annual installments, together with interest thereon,
commencing on the date thirty days after the beginning of the
levying body's fiscal year next succeeding the date the order and
decision giving rise to the refund became final.
(e) Interest provided for in this section shall be allowed
and paid at the rate provided by subsection (d), section
seventeen-a, article ten of this chapter upon the amount of any
refund remaining unpaid and shall accrue commencing with the date
on which the person entitled to the refund first paid the
overpayment, and shall end on the date the said refund is fully
paid.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to reform the procedures
for obtaining administrative and judicial review of property tax
assessments: (1) By improving and clarifying reporting
procedures and the penalties for failure to follow those
procedures; (2) by enhancing notice to taxpayers (a) of those
procedures and penalties, (b) of proposed increases in their
assessments and (c) of the various remedies available for
correction of erroneous tax assessments; (3) by expanding and
improving the opportunities for administrative and judicial
review of tax assessments; (4) by clarifying the procedures for
administrative and judicial review of tax assessments; and (5) by
revising the procedures for paying certain larger refunds of
overassessed taxes in a way that reduces disruption of local
government fiscal affairs.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from present law, and underscoring indicates language that would
be added.
§§11-3-2b, 2c, 24b, 24c, 24d and 24e are new; therefore,
strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.
This bill was recommended for passage at the 1995 session
by the Joint Standing Judiciary Committee.