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Caruthers Property Tax Letter
Article 11. Report on 2009 Property Tax Legislation Pending in Nashville
This is the first report on proposed legislation which could affect your assessments and property taxes. These are not all the bills filed, but they are the ones we feel which would most impact the taxpayers.
Please keep in mind the legislative process is very important to the taxpayers. There are so many bills filed that seek to close opportunities for taxpayers to obtain reductions. It is important to read these bills because some of the changes are very subtle and appear harmless, oftentimes even helpful. These bills have what we call “Hidden Agendas”; that is, they state one purpose, but really have another.
Thank you for your interest in the legislative process.
SB 0873 - HB 0889: The bill provides that any business taxpayer who fails to file a personal property schedule and has received a forced assessment may have an additional remedy to seek relief from the forced assessment. At the present time, the only remedy is to appeal to the county board of equalization and if the filing date for that board is missed by the taxpayer, there are no further remedies. This proposed law would in effect allow the taxpayer until March 1 of the second year following the year of assessment to apply for a correction. However, nothing is free, and the penalty for receiving any relief is 25% of the relief granted. If it is determined the taxpayer was out of business and did not own or lease personal property held for business, the assessor may correct any forced assessment made against such taxpayer. This bill gives more correction rights to a taxpayer who did not file at all for two years than to a taxpayer who filed one day late. It is very unfairly written.(Senate: Ketron; House: Hackworth)
SB 1570 - HB 1535: If passed, this bill will permit the State Division of Property Assessment to intervene in contested cases between taxpayers and the assessors before the State Board of Equalization. The real effect of the bill is to permit the State to represent the county assessors against the taxpayers. The bill also lists others who are authorized to represent the assessors of property in certain types of contested cases. (Senate: Ketron; House: McCormick)
SB 2111 – HB 2075: This bill would remove the taxpayers’ long standing right to introduce new evidence into the courts. At present, a case may go to court on a de novo basis once the hearing with the State Board of Equalization is over. The new law would delete the de novo provisions of the law and limit the courts to the power to only review the case from the record made at the state board hearing. If passed, this bill will certainly enhance the power of the State Board's decisions. This is a limitation of what the courts can do with a State Board decision and we feel is harmful to the taxpayers. The bill also appears to ultimately require that only lawyers represent taxpayers before the State Board of Equalization.(Senate: Overbey; House: Fitzhugh)
SB 2110 - HB 2074: This bill extends the time
allotted to assessors for correcting errors from March 1 to September 1 of the second year following the tax year in question. They may also now correct errors made in calculating personal property returns in addition the existing power to correct acreage size, square feet, and other type clerical errors. The bill does not permit the assessor to correct errors made by the taxpayer in the taxpayer’s personal property return. The taxpayers must correct these errors under the amended schedule law which allows a full year less than the assessor has to correct errors made by the assessor This is another unfair attempt to change the law so that taxpayers have more difficulty in recovering erroneously paid taxes. The bill also eliminates the taxpayers’ right to file with the State Board on assessments which the taxpayers feel that are unconstitutional or should be voided by a collateral attack. (Senate: Overbey; House: Fitzhugh)
SB 0279 - HB 0382: The bill provides that properties qualified as low rental apartments by the IRS code, shall be valued on a basis less than other apartment properties. Provides that the value shall equal the gross rental times a multiplier of 6. (Senate: Haynes J.; House: Sargent)
SB 1829 - HB 1740: If this bill passes, a taxpayer shall have an equal amount of time to amend their tangible personal property assessment should an audit by the assessor reveal that taxes were overpaid due to an excessive assessment. At the present time, the assessor may take additional time to back assess or back tax any property which was found to be under taxed. The additional time is equal to the amount of time it takes to perform the audit. Sometimes audits reveal that the taxpayer actually overpaid taxes, but by the time the assessor completes the audit and notifies the taxpayer, the deadline for the taxpayer to file for a refund has passed due to the assessor’s delay in completing the audit. This bill will correct that inequity. Our firm drafted this bill and will be working for its passage. (Senate: Kyle; House: Kelsey)
SB 2196 - HB 2175: This bill will force the assessor to correct errors made by taxpayers in filing tangible personal property returns. At the present time the assessor does not have to correct any such errors made by the taxpayer under the correction of errors statute. In order to have an error corrected the taxpayer must file an amended personal property schedule which has a much shorter time period for filing than correction by error by the assessor. Bill applies only to Shelby County. Our firm also drafted this bill. (Senate: Kyle; House : DeBerry L.)
SB 0750 - HB 0559: Taxpayers may approve tax rate increases by referendum if the voters have determined by a previous referendum that all tax rate increases must be approved by the voters. Referendum to approve tax rates may be placed on the ballot by petition signed by 10% of registered voters. (S: Johnson J.; H: Kelsey)
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