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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: September 3, 2019 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-c <br /> SUBJECT: Property Tax Releases/Refunds <br /> DEPARTMENT: Tax Administration <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Resolution Nancy T. Freeman, Interim Tax <br /> Releases/Refunds Data Spreadsheet Administrator, (919) 245-2735 <br /> PURPOSE: To consider adoption of a resolution to release property tax values for forty-nine <br /> (49) taxpayers with a total of seventy-five (75) bills that will result in a reduction of revenue. <br /> BACKGROUND: The Tax Administration Office has received nine taxpayer requests for <br /> release or refund of property taxes. North Carolina General Statute 105-381(b), "Action of <br /> Governing Body" provides that "upon receiving a taxpayer's written statement of defense and <br /> request for release or refund, the governing body of the Taxing Unit shall within 90 days after <br /> receipt of such a request determine whether the taxpayer has a valid defense to the tax <br /> imposed or any part thereof and shall either release or refund that portion of the amount that is <br /> determined to be in excess of the correct liability or notify the taxpayer in writing that no release <br /> or refund will be made". North Carolina law allows the Board to approve property tax refunds for <br /> the current and four previous fiscal years. <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: Approval of this change will result in a net reduction in revenue of <br /> $183,739.51 to the County, municipalities, and special districts. The Tax Assessor recognized <br /> that refunds could impact the budget and accounted for these in the annual budget projections. <br /> In addition, thirty-seven (37) of the release requests have the same reason for adjustment and <br /> same additional information. There is an asterisk in the additional information column of each. <br /> These release requests are due to a software programming error that caused these parcels to <br /> be billed in error. The software programming error has now been corrected. These "parent" <br /> parcels were closed before January 1, 2019 and split into two or more smaller, "children" <br /> parcels. The children parcels were correctly billed for 2019, causing a situation of double billing. <br /> The double billing results in unplanned revenue, and the release of these bills will have little <br /> bearing on the overall financial impact of this action. The release amount of these 36 bills <br /> represents $115,888.63 of the overall $183,739.51 shown on the report. <br />