10 LC 18
8858
House
Bill 1139
By:
Representatives Mills of the
25th,
Collins of the
27th,
Rogers of the
26th,
and Peake of the
137th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 5 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, related
to ad valorem taxation of property, so as to change certain provisions regarding
notice of changes in taxpayers' returns; to provide for annual notice; to
provide for a short title; to provide for related matters; to provide for an
effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
This
Act shall be cited as the "Property Owner Notification Act."
SECTION
2.
Chapter
5 of Title 48 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to revenue and
taxation, is amended by revising Code Section 48-5-306, relating to notice of
changes made in ad valorem tax returns of taxpayers, as follows:
"48-5-306.
(a)
Method of giving
notice to taxpayer
of
changes made in such taxpayer's
return.
Each county board of tax assessors may meet at any time to receive and inspect
the tax returns to be laid before it by the tax receiver or tax commissioner.
The board shall examine all the returns of both real and personal property of
each taxpayer, and if in the opinion of the board any taxpayer has omitted from
such taxpayer's returns any property that should be returned or has failed to
return any of such taxpayer's property at its fair market value, the board shall
correct the returns, assess and fix the fair market value to be placed on the
property, make a note of such assessment and valuation, and attach the note to
the returns. The board shall see that all taxable property within the county is
assessed and returned at its fair market value and that fair market values as
between the individual taxpayers are fairly and justly equalized so that each
taxpayer shall pay as nearly as possible only such taxpayer's proportionate
share of taxes.
When any
such corrections or changes, including valuation increases or decreases, or
equalizations have been made by the board,
the
The
board shall give
annual
written notice to the taxpayer of
any such
changes made in such taxpayer's returns
regardless of
whether any changes or corrections, including valuation increases, decreases, or
equalizations, have been made. The notice
may be given personally by leaving the notice at the taxpayer's dwelling house,
usual place of abode, or place of business with some person of suitable age and
discretion residing or employed in the house, abode, or business, or by sending
the notice through the United States mail as first-class mail to the taxpayer's
last known address. When notice is given by mail, the county board of tax
assessors' return address shall appear in the upper left corner of the face of
the mailing envelope and with the United States Postal Service endorsement
'Return Service Requested' and the words 'Official Tax Matter' clearly printed
in boldface type in a location which meets United States Postal Service
regulations.
(b)
Contents of
notice.
(1)
The notice required to be given by the county board of tax assessors under
subsection (a) of this Code section shall be dated and shall
contain:
(A)
The
the
name and last known address of the
taxpayer;.
If the assessment of the value of the taxpayer's property is changed, the notice
shall contain:
(A)(B)
Any changes or corrections, including valuation increases or decreases, or
equalizations;
(C)
The amount of the previous assessment;
(B)(D)
The amount of the current assessment;
(C)(E)
The year for which the new assessment is applicable;
(D)(F)
A brief description of the assessed property broken down into real and personal
property classifications;
(E)(G)
The fair market value of property of the taxpayer subject to taxation and the
assessed value of the taxpayer's property subject to taxation after being
reduced; and
(F)(H)
The name and phone number of the person in the assessors' office who is
administratively responsible for the handling of
the
an
appeal and who the taxpayer may contact if the taxpayer has questions about the
reasons for
the
any
assessment change or the appeals process.
(2)
In addition to the items required under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the
notice shall contain a statement of the taxpayer's right to an appeal
and an
estimate of the current year's
taxes,
which
statement
shall be in substantially the following form:
'The
amount of your ad valorem tax bill for this year will be based on the appraised
and assessed values specified in this notice. You have the right to appeal
these values
(1)
to the county board of tax assessors
either
followed by an appeal to the county board of equalization or to
nonbinding
arbitration and in either case, to appeal to the superior
court, or (2)
to binding arbitration without an appeal to the superior
court.
If
you wish to file an appeal, you must do so in writing no later than
30
45
days after the date of this notice. If you do not file an appeal by this date,
your right to file an appeal will be lost. For further information on the
proper method for filing an appeal, you may contact the county board of tax
assessors which is located at:
(insert
address) and which may be contacted by
telephone at:
(insert
telephone number).
(c)
Posting
notice on certain
conditions.
In all cases where a notice is required to be given to a taxpayer under
subsection (a) of this Code section, if the notice is not given to the taxpayer
personally or if the notice is mailed but returned undelivered to the county
board of tax assessors, then a notice shall be posted in front of the courthouse
door for a period of 30 days. Each posted notice shall contain the name of the
owner liable to taxation, if known, or, if the owner is unknown, a brief
description of the property together with a statement that the assessment has
been made or the return changed or altered, as the case may be, and the notice
need not contain any other information. The judge of the probate court of the
county shall make a certificate as to the posting of the notice. Each
certificate shall be signed by the judge and shall be recorded by the county
board of tax assessors in a book kept for that purpose. A certified copy of the
certificate of the judge duly authenticated by the secretary of the board shall
constitute prima-facie evidence of the posting of the notice as required by
law.
(d)(c)
Records and
information availability. Notwithstanding
the provisions of Code Section 50-18-71, in the case of all public records and
information of the county board of tax assessors pertaining to the appraisal and
assessment of
the
real property
subject to
such notice:
(1)
The taxpayer may request, and the county board of tax assessors shall provide
within ten business days, copies of such public records and information at a
uniform copying fee not to exceed 25¢ per page; and
(2)
No additional charges or fees may be collected from the taxpayer for reasonable
search, retrieval, or other administrative costs associated with providing such
public records and information.
(e)(d)
Basis for new
assessment. Where the assessment of the
value of the taxpayer's real property subject to taxation exceeds the returned
value of such property by 15 percent or more, the notice required by this
subsection shall be accompanied by a simple, nontechnical description of the
basis for the new assessment. All documents reviewed in making the assessment,
the address of all real properties utilized as comparable properties, and all
factors considered in establishing the new assessment shall be made available to
the taxpayer pursuant to the terms and conditions of subsection
(d)
(c)
of this Code section, and the notice shall contain a statement of that
availability.
(e.1)(e)
New assessment
description. Where the assessment of the
value of the taxpayer's real property subject to taxation exceeds the returned
value of such property by less than 15 percent, a county governing authority may
provide by ordinance or resolution that the notice thereof to the taxpayer may
be accompanied by a simple, nontechnical description of the basis for the new
assessment. Such notice may also contain a statement of the availability of all
documents reviewed in making the assessment, the address of all real properties
utilized as comparable properties, and all factors considered in establishing
the new assessment.
(f)
The commissioner shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary
for the administration of this Code section."
SECTION
3.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
4.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.