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| Storm victims can appeal property tax values to Tax Court | ||
| 01/28/2008 | ||
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SALEM—If you live in one of the counties hit by December’s storms, and you intended to appeal the 2007-08 assessed value of your property but missed the December 31 deadline, there is another option. Under Oregon law, property owners must appeal property tax values to a county’s board of property tax appeals (BOPTA) by December 31 of the year they are appealing. This means that for the 2007-08 tax year an owner would appeal the value set as of January 1, 2007, which is shown on the fall 2007 property tax statement. However, property owners with property in Clatsop, Columbia, Polk, Tillamook, and Yamhill counties who couldn’t meet the BOPTA appeal deadline because of the storm can file appeals directly to the Magistrate Division of the Oregon Tax Court. The Magistrate Division will hear their cases if they can show "good and sufficient cause" why they didn’t appeal to the county BOPTA by the deadline. "Good and sufficient cause is generally defined as an extraordinary circumstance beyond the taxpayer's control. The December 3 storm falls into that category,” said Gregg Thummel, an Oregon Department of Revenue principal appraiser. Taxpayers will need to show that they not only live in the counties affected by the storm, but that the storm impaired their ability to file an appeal with the county board of property tax appeals, Thummel said. You have until June 30, 2010 to appeal to the Magistrate Division. However, your appeal may be easier to resolve if you filed sooner. For more information, call your county assessor’s office, visit the Oregon Department of Revenue or the Oregon Tax Court. Appeal forms are available at the Tax Court website. |
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