Agenda - 04-06-2010 - 4f - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: April 6, 2010 Action Agenda Item No. SUBJECT. Property Tax Refund Request DEPARTMENT: Tax Administration PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Resolution Jo Roberson, 245-2735 05/11/2009 Refund Request Letter 12/04/2009 Opinion of Staff Attorney 01/27/2010 Follow-up Letter 02/01/2010 Assessor Letter PURPOSE: To consider adoption of a refund resolution to deny one (1) request for property tax refund. BACKGROUND: The Tax Administration Office has received one (1) request from a taxpayer for refund of property taxes paid in a prior fiscal year. North Carolina General Statute 105- 381(b), "Action of Governing Body" provides that "upon receiving a taxpayer's written statement of defense and request for release or refund, the governing body of the Taxing Unit shall within 90 days after receipt of such a request determine whether the taxpayer has a valid defense to the tax imposed or any part thereof and shall either release or refund that portion of the amount that is determined to be in excess of the correct liability or notify the taxpayer in writing that no release or refund will be made". North Carolina law allows the Board to approve property tax refunds for the current and four previous fiscal years. Under GS105-380 "the governing body of a taxing jurisdiction is prohibited from releasing, refunding, or compromising all or any portion of the taxes levied against any property within its jurisdiction except as expressly provided". Per the same statute, any tax that has been refunded in violation of law may be recovered from any members of the governing body who voted for the refund. In this case, the taxpayer has requested a refund for tax years 2005 through 2008. In response to the taxpayer's inquiry, this property was re-visited in October 2009. After review, it was the appraiser's judgment that a reduction in square footage to the improvement was warranted. For 2009, the valuation of the improvement was reduced. Although the 2009 field review did result in a reduction in value, the General Statutes (GS 105-381) are very clear in defining what can and cannot be refunded. For a refund to be legal, the taxpayer must demonstrate that there was (a) a tax imposed through clerical error; or (b) an illegal tax; or (c) a tax levied for an illegal purpose.