Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
N <br />It is the Tax Administrator's recommendation that the requested refund be denied. This <br />recommendation is based on several statutory reasons. First, neither appraiser judgment nor <br />an error in measurement constitutes an illegal tax. The Tax Administration office has worked <br />closely with the County Attorney's office and specifically the Staff Attorney to define an illegal <br />tax. The area in question is the space above the garage. The County incorrectly assessed the <br />area as being finished. A field inspection verified that the area was not a finished space. <br />However, the space does exist and has not been taxed twice. By definition, an illegal tax is a <br />duplication of taxation, a situation where one is taxed twice for the same property. An example <br />of this would be where the same house is taxed on two different tracts of land when it only <br />existed on one tract. An illegal tax could also occur when the County appraiser mistakenly <br />appraises the home as having two floors when only one floor exists. <br />Second, appraiser judgment does not constitute a clerical error. Again, the Tax Administration <br />office has worked closely with the County Attorney's office to define a clerical error. By <br />definition, a clerical error is an error of transposition. For example, a clerical error would result <br />when the clerk is keying from the appraiser's property record card and the clerk enters "two <br />stories" when the appraiser indicated on the property record card that the house is a single <br />story. Another example might be when the appraiser indicates that the house was built in the <br />year 2000, but the clerk enters "2000" into the data entry area for fireplaces. <br />Finally, the taxpayer has been notified at least twice each of the years in which a refund is <br />requested as to the value of the property. There were opportunities to appeal the value each <br />year within the statutory deadlines. Also, there is no guarantee that the value would have been <br />changed in previous years had a timely appeal been made. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: Denial of this application for refund will result in no reduction in monies <br />from the County, municipalities, and special districts. However, approval of this request would <br />result in a reduction in monies from the County, municipalities and special districts for the total <br />of all refund years in the amount of $2,172.69. <br />RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board approve the attached <br />resolution denying one (1) property tax refund request in accordance with North Carolina <br />General Statute 105 -381. <br />