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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: April 19, 2005 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. 5-G. <br />SUBJECT: Property Tax Release of Deferred Taxes (Best vs. Orange County) <br />DEPARTMENT: Assessor <br />PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Resolution <br />Spreadsheet <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />John Smith, ext, 2101 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To consider adoption of a resolution to release property values related to one (1) <br />request for property tax release on deferred taxes. <br />BACKGROUND: The Assessor's Office is requesting approval to release property values <br />related to one (1) request for property tax release on deferred taxes (see explanations on <br />attached spreadsheet). General Statute 105-381(b), "Action of Governing Body" provides that <br />"upon receiving a taxpayer's written statement of defense and request for release or refund, the <br />governing body of the Taxing Unit shall within 90 days after receipt of such a request determine <br />whether the taxpayer has a valid defense to the tax imposed or any part thereof and shall either <br />release or refund that portion of the amount that is determined to be in excess of the correct <br />liability or notify the taxpayer in writing that no release or refund will be made". North Carolina <br />law allows the Board to approve property tax releases for the current and four previous fiscal <br />years. <br />It should be noted that this release is due to a Default Judgment issued in the case of Best vs, <br />Orange County, which involved a question of tax situs related to the uncertain location of the <br />Orange-Alamance boundary line. The property is a participant in the present use value <br />program and has incurred a deferred tax bill for 2002, 2003, and 2004, This release specifically <br />addresses these deferred taxes. Although this property is only 9.78 acres in size, it qualifies for <br />the use value program under NCGS § 105-277.3 (a)(1), which provides that "individually owned <br />agricultural land consisting of one or mare tracts, one of which consists of at least 10 acres..,." <br />is designated a special class of property that is eligible for taxation under the present use value <br />program, In practice, this means that once there is one qualifying tract, other tracts (whether <br />contiguous or not) may be qualified even if they individually, standing on their own, would not <br />qualify, The property owner in this case owns several tracts, In Orange County there is a <br />qualifying tract that is 16 acres, and there is a 27 acre tract taxed in Alamance County <br />