Bill Text: CA SB1246 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Property tax: claims for refund.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-09-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 358, Statutes of 2018. [SB1246 Detail]
Download: California-2017-SB1246-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
June 27, 2018 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
May 16, 2018 |
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Amended
IN
Senate
April 30, 2018 |
| Senate Bill | No. 1246 |
| Introduced by Senator Gaines |
February 15, 2018 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
(1)Existing property tax law defines taxes for purposes of property tax corrections, cancellations, and refunds to include assessments collected at the same time and in the same manner as county taxes.
This bill would define assessments for purposes of these provisions to mean any non-ad valorem levies collected at the same time and in the same manner as county taxes.
(2)Existing
The bill would also authorize an order for a refund to be paid to, and would permit a claim for a refund to be verified by, the assessee of the property as shown on the tax roll if there has
been no transfer of the property in the fiscal year that the taxes were levied and if the refund amount is less than $5,000.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
When the amount of taxes paid exceeds the amount due, as shown on the bill, by more than ten dollars ($10), the tax collector shall either order a refund pursuant to Section 5105 or shall send notice of the overpayment to the taxpayer. The notice shall be mailed to the taxpayer’s last known address and shall state the amount of the overpayment and that a refund claim may be filed pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 5096) of Part 9.
(a)As used in this part, “taxes” includes assessments collected at the same time and in the same manner as county taxes.
(b)As used in this part, “assessments” means a non-ad valorem levy collected at the same time and in the same manner as county taxes.
(a)If the correction will result in a reduction of an assessment that would entitle the assessee, or person who paid the tax, to a refund, the auditor shall either process the order for refund pursuant to Section 5105 or notify the assessee, or person who paid the tax, in writing at the address available to the county tax collector or the assessor, or another address, if known, of the requirements for obtaining a refund pursuant to Section 5097. The notice shall state that the assessee, or person who paid the tax, is entitled to a refund and that a claim for a refund shall be filed, pursuant to Section 5097, within 60 days of the date of the notice or four years after making the payment, whichever is later.
Notwithstanding Section 5097, a claim for a refund shall be deemed timely filed if it is filed within 60 days of the date of the notice.
(b)If the correction will increase the amount of unpaid taxes, the assessor shall notify the assessee of the procedure for obtaining review by the county board under Section 1605 and the procedure for applying for cancellation under Section 4986.
SEC. 4.SECTION 1.
Section 5097 of the Revenue and Taxation Code is amended to read:5097.
(a) An order for a refund under this article shall not be made, except on a claim:(B)The claim may be verified by, and paid to, the assessee of that property as shown on the tax roll at the address available to the county tax collector or the assessor, or another address, if
known, if both of the following conditions are met:
(i)There has been no transfer of the property during or since the fiscal year for which the taxes subject to refund were levied.
(ii)The amount of the refund is less than five thousand dollars ($5,000).
Notwithstanding Sections 5096 and 5097, any taxes paid before or after delinquency may be ordered for refund by the county tax collector or the county auditor, within four years after the date of payment, if:
(a)Paid more than once.
(b)The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as shown on the roll by an amount greater than ten dollars ($10).
(c)The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as the result of corrections to the roll or cancellations after those taxes were paid.
(d)In any other
case, where a claim for refund is made under penalty of perjury and is for an amount less than ten dollars ($10).
(e)The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as the result of a reduction attributable to a hearing before an assessment appeals board or an assessment hearing officer.
Any order for refund of taxes, assessments, penalties, interest, or costs authorized pursuant to this article as a result of a reduction in the value of taxable property, as the result of corrections or cancellations to the tax roll after taxes or assessments were paid, or due to the overpayment of taxes, may be paid to the latest recorded owner of that property, or to the assessee of that property, as shown on the tax roll, rather than to the person who paid the amount of tax or assessment to be refunded, if both of the following conditions are met:
(a)There has been no transfer of the property during or since the fiscal year for which the taxes subject to refund
were levied.
(b)The amount of the refund is less than five thousand dollars ($5,000).
SEC. 7.SEC. 2.
Section 5105 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:5105.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 5097, an order for refund of taxes or assessments authorized pursuant to this article may be paid to the assessee of that property, or to the latest recorded owner of that property, as shown on the tax roll, without a claim for refund filed, if both of the following conditions are met:(a)Interest at the greater of 3 percent per annum or the county pool apportioned rate shall be paid, when that interest is ten dollars ($10) or more, on any amount refunded under Section 5096.7, or refunded to a taxpayer for any reason whatsoever. However, no interest shall be paid under the provisions of this section if the taxpayer has been given the notice required by Section 2635 and has failed to apply for the refund within 30 days after the mailing of that notice, or if the tax collector orders a refund pursuant to Section 5105 within 30 days of the taxpayer’s payment. For purposes of this section, “county pool apportioned
rate” means the annualized rate of interest earned on the total amount of pooled idle funds from all accounts held by the county treasurer, in excess of the county treasurer’s administrative costs with respect to that amount, as of June 30 of the fiscal year preceding the date the refund is calculated by the auditor. For each fiscal year, the county treasurer shall advise the Controller of the county pool apportioned rate, and of computations made in deriving that rate, no later than 90 days after the end of that fiscal year. Any interest paid on a refund at a rate provided for by this subdivision as it read prior to January 1, 2009, shall be deemed to be correct.
(b)The interest rate provided for in subdivision (a) does not apply to interest on refunds of those amounts of tax that became due and payable before March 1, 1993.
Interest on refunds of amounts of a qualified tax shall be paid at that rate provided for by this section as it read prior to January 1, 1993. As used in this section, a “qualified tax” means a tax that became due and payable before March 1, 1993, and had not been refunded as of April 6, 1995. This subdivision shall not be construed to affect the interest paid on refunds of those amounts of tax that became due and payable before March 1, 1993, and have been refunded as of April 6, 1995.
(c)(1)The interest computation period shall commence with the date of payment of the tax when any of the following applies:
(A)A timely application for reduction in an assessment was filed, without regard to whether the refund ultimately results from a judgment or order
of a court, an order of a board of equalization or assessment appeals board, or an assessor’s correction to the assessment roll.
(B)The refund is pursuant to a roll correction resulting from the determination or adjustment by the assessor or a local assessment appeals board of a base year value.
(C)The refund results from a correction to the assessment roll pursuant to Section 4831 or 4876.
(2)Interest on refunds of taxes on property acquired by a public agency in eminent domain shall accrue from the date of recordation of the deed.
(3)In all other cases the interest computation period shall commence on the date of filing a claim for refund or payment of the
tax, whichever is later. However, in the event of the granting of property tax relief pursuant to Section 69, 69.3, or 170, interest is not payable on any resulting refund of taxes, provided that payment of that refund of taxes is made within 120 days after the county assessor has sent authorization for the reduction to the county auditor.
(d)The computation of interest shall terminate as of a date within 30 days of the date of mailing or personal delivery of the refund payment.
(e)The interest charged shall be apportioned to the appropriate funds, as determined by the county auditor.
(f)The amendments made to this section by Section 4 of Chapter 801 of the Statutes of 1996 shall apply to all refunds made after January
1, 1997.
