NNS Tax Refund Request - CH Hotel Associates, Ltd. - 4-3-95 - IX-B

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Board of Commissioners Page 3 March 2, 1995 letter was provided to the Tax Assessor by the Tax Collector, did put the Tax Assessor on notice that the parcel of land remaining after the NC DOT road project was, in value, affected by the size reduction caused by the road project. However, that letter did not get to the Tax Assessor in time for him to take action under N.-C. Gen. Stat. S 105-296 and it did not come to him in time for the Board of Equalization and Review to take action under N.C. Gen. Stat. S 105-322 . The Board of Equalization and Review adjourned in 1992 prior to October 19 , 1992 . The only remedy available to correct the 1992 tax valuation of the land in question was for the Tax Assessor to have brought the matter to the Board of Commissioners in 1992 and for the Board of Commissioners to have acted on it pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. S 105-325 . However, the Tax Assessor did not bring the matter to the Board of Commissioners for its consideration in 1992 . And, each of the three statutes authorizing relief from appraisal decisions authorize a valuation change as to current year valuation only. There is no authorization in the Machinery Act to make appraisal changes for prior years . The relief requested by' the taxpayer is being brought to the Board's attention for action in response to the April 20, 1994 letter from Mr. Gammon on behalf of Chapel Hill Hotel Associates, Ltd. This April 20, 1994 letter can be treated, and I recommend that it be treated by the Board, as a "statement of defense" being asserted by the taxpayer to the enforcement of the collection of the tax assessed for 1991 and 1992 . North Carolina General Statutes S 105-381 authorizes a taxpayer to assert any valid defense that it has to the enforcement of the collection of a tax. The valid defenses include: tax imposed through clerical error; an illegal tax; a tax levied for an illegal purpose. The taxpayer, as I interpret its April 20, 1994 letter, is alleging a clerical error in the handling of its request for tax relief. It is my view that there is statutory authority for the release of a portion of 1992 taxes resulting from the recalculation of the value of the parcel remaining after the NC DOT project because the Board of Commissioners could have granted this relief in 1992 had the matter been brought to the Board's attention in 1992 following the October 1992 request made by the taxpayer. The fact that the taxpayer's request was not brought to the Board in 1992 can be considered a clerical error and provides a basis for release of the 1992 taxes . On the other hand, the 1991 request of the taxpayer for an adjustment in value based on parcel size only, which adjustment was made by the Tax Assessor, in my opinion did not put the Tax Assessor on notice that there was a need to reevaluate the residual parcel. Thus, there was nothing for the Tax Assessor to act on with respect to the 1991 request except for a size reduction adjustment and,