Orange County NC Website
1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: June 20, 2023 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-d <br /> SUBJECT: Tax Refund Request — Walker Hall Busby, Jr. <br /> DEPARTMENT: Tax Administration <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Busby Email Refund Request Nancy T Freeman, Tax Administrator, <br /> North Carolina General Statute 105-381 (919) 245-2735 <br /> Coates' Cannons Blog — Appraisal vs <br /> Clerical Error <br /> Resolution <br /> PURPOSE: To consider a refund request for taxes submitted by Walker Hall Busby, Jr. <br /> BACKGROUND: Walker Hall Busby, Jr. submitted a refund request for property identified as PIN <br /> 9779209961 and owned by Walker Hall Busby, Jr. and Marjorie G. Busby for taxes improperly <br /> assessed from 2021 through 2022. The claim for this request is based on the premise that for <br /> 2021, the County incorrectly calculated the finished area of the residence of the property to be <br /> 4,216 square feet, whereas a 2023 inspection of the property resulted in a re-measuring of the <br /> residence and a revised finished area calculation of 2,975 square feet. Mr. Busby maintains that <br /> the values for 2021 and 2022 are incorrect due to a clerical error on the part of the Orange County <br /> Tax Office appraisers. Mr. Busby has requested a refund in the amount of $2,959.57 for <br /> overpayment of taxes due to this calculation error. Based on Tax Office review, if the property <br /> value were changed as proposed from $610,200 to $523,100, the appropriate calculated refund <br /> amount would be $2,808.71. <br /> Each year, property owners have the opportunity to appeal their values prior to the adjournment <br /> of the Board of Equalization and Review. Once the Board adjourns, the Assessor has no statutory <br /> authority to make adjustments on the current assessments. <br /> The value for the 2023 tax year was adjusted on March 27, 2023 to $523,100 representing a <br /> correction to an appraisal error for the property initiated by the taxpayer's return of a data <br /> validation form mailed by the Orange County Tax Office. <br /> North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) 105-381(a) allows the refund and release of taxes only <br /> under very limited circumstances, including clerical error. In the 1997 case Ammons vs. Wake <br /> County, the NC Court of Appeals concluded that to qualify as a clerical error, a mistake must be <br /> one that produces an unintended result and is apparent from the face of the documents, such as <br /> a transcription mistake (for example, recording 5,200 square feet instead of 2,500 square feet.). <br /> The term "clerical error" does not include errors in judgment such as an appraisal error. <br />