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Missouri Senate Bill SB786

Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB786 Compare Versions

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22 EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
33 and is intended to be omitted in the law.
44 FIRST REGULAR SESSION
55 SENATE BILL NO. 786
66 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
77 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR NICOLA.
88 3105S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
99 AN ACT
1010 To repeal sections 137.115, 138.060, 138.135, 138.434, and 139.031, RSMo, and to enact in lieu
1111 thereof six new sections relating to property taxes.
1212
1313 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
1414 Section A. Sections 137.115, 138.060, 138.135, 138.434, 1
1515 and 139.031, RSMo, are repealed and six new sections enacted in 2
1616 lieu thereof, to be known as sections 137.115, 137.132, 138.060, 3
1717 138.135, 138.434, and 139.031, to read as follows:4
1818 137.115. 1. All other laws to the contrary 1
1919 notwithstanding, the assessor or the assessor's deputies in 2
2020 all counties of this state including the City of St. Louis 3
2121 shall annually make a list of all real and tangible personal 4
2222 property taxable in the assessor's city, county, town or 5
2323 district. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3 of 6
2424 this section and section 137.078, the assessor shall 7
2525 annually assess all personal property at thirty -three and 8
2626 one-third percent of its true value in money as of January 9
2727 first of each calendar year. The assessor shall annually 10
2828 assess all real property, including any new construction and 11
2929 improvements to real propert y, and possessory interests in 12
3030 real property at the percent of its true value in money set 13
3131 in subsection 5 of this section. The true value in money of 14
3232 any possessory interest in real property in subclass (3), 15
3333 where such real property is on or lies wit hin the ultimate 16
3434 airport boundary as shown by a federal airport layout plan, 17 SB 786 2
3535 as defined by 14 CFR 151.5, of a commercial airport having a 18
3636 FAR Part 139 certification and owned by a political 19
3737 subdivision, shall be the otherwise applicable true value in 20
3838 money of any such possessory interest in real property, less 21
3939 the total dollar amount of costs paid by a party, other than 22
4040 the political subdivision, towards any new construction or 23
4141 improvements on such real property completed after January 24
4242 1, 2008, and which are included in the above -mentioned 25
4343 possessory interest, regardless of the year in which such 26
4444 costs were incurred or whether such costs were considered in 27
4545 any prior year. The assessor shall annually assess all real 28
4646 property in the following man ner: new assessed values shall 29
4747 be determined as of January first of each odd -numbered year 30
4848 and shall be entered in the assessor's books; those same 31
4949 assessed values shall apply in the following even -numbered 32
5050 year, except for new construction and propert y improvements 33
5151 which shall be valued as though they had been completed as 34
5252 of January first of the preceding odd -numbered year. The 35
5353 assessor may call at the office, place of doing business, or 36
5454 residence of each person required by this chapter to list 37
5555 property, and require the person to make a correct statement 38
5656 of all taxable tangible personal property owned by the 39
5757 person or under his or her care, charge or management, 40
5858 taxable in the county. On or before January first of each 41
5959 even-numbered year, the assessor shall prepare and submit a 42
6060 two-year assessment maintenance plan to the county governing 43
6161 body and the state tax commission for their respective 44
6262 approval or modification. The county governing body shall 45
6363 approve and forward such plan or its al ternative to the plan 46
6464 to the state tax commission by February first. If the 47
6565 county governing body fails to forward the plan or its 48
6666 alternative to the plan to the state tax commission by 49 SB 786 3
6767 February first, the assessor's plan shall be considered 50
6868 approved by the county governing body. If the state tax 51
6969 commission fails to approve a plan and if the state tax 52
7070 commission and the assessor and the governing body of the 53
7171 county involved are unable to resolve the differences, in 54
7272 order to receive state cost -share funds outlined in section 55
7373 137.750, the county or the assessor shall petition the 56
7474 administrative hearing commission, by May first, to decide 57
7575 all matters in dispute regarding the assessment maintenance 58
7676 plan. Upon agreement of the parties, the matter may be 59
7777 stayed while the parties proceed with mediation or 60
7878 arbitration upon terms agreed to by the parties. The final 61
7979 decision of the administrative hearing commission shall be 62
8080 subject to judicial review in the circuit court of the 63
8181 county involved. In the event a valuation of subclass (1) 64
8282 real property within any county with a charter form of 65
8383 government, or within a city not within a county, is made by 66
8484 a computer, computer -assisted method or a computer program, 67
8585 the burden of proof, supported by cl ear, convincing and 68
8686 cogent evidence to sustain such valuation, shall be on the 69
8787 assessor at any hearing or appeal. In any such county, 70
8888 unless the assessor proves otherwise, there shall be a 71
8989 presumption that the assessment was made by a computer, 72
9090 computer-assisted method or a computer program. Such 73
9191 evidence shall include, but shall not be limited to, the 74
9292 following: 75
9393 (1) The findings of the assessor based on an appraisal 76
9494 of the property by generally accepted appraisal techniques; 77
9595 and 78
9696 (2) The purchase prices from sales of at least three 79
9797 comparable properties and the address or location thereof. 80 SB 786 4
9898 As used in this subdivision, the word "comparable" means 81
9999 that: 82
100100 (a) Such sale was closed at a date relevant to the 83
101101 property valuation; and 84
102102 (b) Such properties are not more than one mile from 85
103103 the site of the disputed property, except where no similar 86
104104 properties exist within one mile of the disputed property, 87
105105 the nearest comparable property shall be used. Such 88
106106 property shall be with in five hundred square feet in size of 89
107107 the disputed property, and resemble the disputed property in 90
108108 age, floor plan, number of rooms, and other relevant 91
109109 characteristics. 92
110110 2. Assessors in each county of this state and the City 93
111111 of St. Louis may send personal property assessment forms 94
112112 through the mail. 95
113113 3. The following items of personal property shall each 96
114114 constitute separate subclasses of tangible personal property 97
115115 and shall be assessed and valued for the purposes of 98
116116 taxation at the followi ng percentages of their true value in 99
117117 money: 100
118118 (1) Grain and other agricultural crops in an 101
119119 unmanufactured condition, one -half of one percent; 102
120120 (2) Livestock, twelve percent; 103
121121 (3) Farm machinery, twelve percent; 104
122122 (4) Motor vehicles which are eligible for registration 105
123123 as and are registered as historic motor vehicles pursuant to 106
124124 section 301.131 and aircraft which are at least twenty -five 107
125125 years old and which are used solely for noncommercial 108
126126 purposes and are operated less than two hund red hours per 109
127127 year or aircraft that are home built from a kit, five 110
128128 percent; 111
129129 (5) Poultry, twelve percent; and 112 SB 786 5
130130 (6) Tools and equipment used for pollution control and 113
131131 tools and equipment used in retooling for the purpose of 114
132132 introducing new product lines or used for making 115
133133 improvements to existing products by any company which is 116
134134 located in a state enterprise zone and which is identified 117
135135 by any standard industrial classification number cited in 118
136136 subdivision (7) of section 135.200, twenty -five percent. 119
137137 4. The person listing the property shall enter a true 120
138138 and correct statement of the property, in a printed blank 121
139139 prepared for that purpose. The statement, after being 122
140140 filled out, shall be signed and either affirmed or sworn to 123
141141 as provided in section 137.155. The list shall then be 124
142142 delivered to the assessor. 125
143143 5. (1) All subclasses of real property, as such 126
144144 subclasses are established in Section 4(b) of Article X of 127
145145 the Missouri Constitution and defined in section 137.016, 128
146146 shall be assessed at the following percentages of true value: 129
147147 (a) For real property in subclass (1), nineteen 130
148148 percent; 131
149149 (b) For real property in subclass (2), twelve percent; 132
150150 and 133
151151 (c) For real property in subclass (3), thirty -two 134
152152 percent. 135
153153 (2) A taxpayer may apply to the county assessor, or, 136
154154 if not located within a county, then the assessor of such 137
155155 city, for the reclassification of such taxpayer's real 138
156156 property if the use or purpose of such real property is 139
157157 changed after such property is assessed under the provisions 140
158158 of this chapter. If the assessor determines that such 141
159159 property shall be reclassified, he or she shall determine 142
160160 the assessment under this subsection based on the percentage 143 SB 786 6
161161 of the tax year that such property was class ified in each 144
162162 subclassification. 145
163163 6. Manufactured homes, as defined in section 700.010, 146
164164 which are actually used as dwelling units shall be assessed 147
165165 at the same percentage of true value as residential real 148
166166 property for the purpose of taxation. The percentage of 149
167167 assessment of true value for such manufactured homes shall 150
168168 be the same as for residential real property. If the county 151
169169 collector cannot identify or find the manufactured home when 152
170170 attempting to attach the manufactured home for payment o f 153
171171 taxes owed by the manufactured home owner, the county 154
172172 collector may request the county commission to have the 155
173173 manufactured home removed from the tax books, and such 156
174174 request shall be granted within thirty days after the 157
175175 request is made; however, the removal from the tax books 158
176176 does not remove the tax lien on the manufactured home if it 159
177177 is later identified or found. For purposes of this section, 160
178178 a manufactured home located in a manufactured home rental 161
179179 park, rental community or on real estate not o wned by the 162
180180 manufactured home owner shall be considered personal 163
181181 property. For purposes of this section, a manufactured home 164
182182 located on real estate owned by the manufactured home owner 165
183183 may be considered real property. 166
184184 7. Each manufactured home a ssessed shall be considered 167
185185 a parcel for the purpose of reimbursement pursuant to 168
186186 section 137.750, unless the manufactured home is deemed to 169
187187 be real estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015 170
188188 and assessed as a realty improvement to the existi ng real 171
189189 estate parcel. 172
190190 8. Any amount of tax due and owing based on the 173
191191 assessment of a manufactured home shall be included on the 174
192192 personal property tax statement of the manufactured home 175 SB 786 7
193193 owner unless the manufactured home is deemed to be real 176
194194 estate as defined in subsection 7 of section 442.015, in 177
195195 which case the amount of tax due and owing on the assessment 178
196196 of the manufactured home as a realty improvement to the 179
197197 existing real estate parcel shall be included on the real 180
198198 property tax statement of the real estate owner. 181
199199 9. The assessor of each county and each city not 182
200200 within a county shall use the trade -in value published in 183
201201 the October issue of the National Automobile Dealers' 184
202202 Association Official Used Car Guide, or its successor 185
203203 publication, as the recommended guide of information for 186
204204 determining the true value of motor vehicles described in 187
205205 such publication. The assessor shall not use a value that 188
206206 is greater than the average trade -in value in determining 189
207207 the true value of the mo tor vehicle without performing a 190
208208 physical inspection of the motor vehicle. For vehicles two 191
209209 years old or newer from a vehicle's model year, the assessor 192
210210 may use a value other than average without performing a 193
211211 physical inspection of the motor vehicle. In the absence of 194
212212 a listing for a particular motor vehicle in such 195
213213 publication, the assessor shall use such information or 196
214214 publications which in the assessor's judgment will fairly 197
215215 estimate the true value in money of the motor vehicle. 198
216216 10. Before the assessor may increase the assessed 199
217217 valuation of any parcel of subclass (1) real property by 200
218218 more than fifteen percent since the last assessment, 201
219219 excluding increases due to new construction or improvements, 202
220220 the assessor shall conduct a physical in spection of such 203
221221 property. 204
222222 11. If a physical inspection is required [,] pursuant 205
223223 to subsection 10 of this section, the assessor shall notify 206
224224 the property owner of that fact in writing and shall provide 207 SB 786 8
225225 the owner clear written notice of the owner's rights 208
226226 relating to the physical inspection. If a physical 209
227227 inspection is required, the property owner may request that 210
228228 an interior inspection be performed during the physical 211
229229 inspection. The owner shall have no less than thirty days 212
230230 prior to the physical inspection to notify the assessor of a 213
231231 request for an interior physical inspection. 214
232232 12. A physical inspection [, as] required by subsection 215
233233 10 of this section[,] shall be completed prior to July first 216
234234 of the reassessment year and shall include, but not be 217
235235 limited to, an on-site personal observation and review of 218
236236 all exterior portions of the land and any buildings and 219
237237 improvements to which the inspector has or may reasonably 220
238238 and lawfully gain external access, and shall include an 221
239239 observation and review of the interior of any buildings or 222
240240 improvements on the property upon the timely request of the 223
241241 owner pursuant to subsection 11 of this section. Mere 224
242242 observation of the property via a drive -by inspection or the 225
243243 like shall not be consider ed sufficient to constitute a 226
244244 physical inspection as required by this section. 227
245245 13. A county or city collector may accept credit cards 228
246246 as proper form of payment of outstanding property tax or 229
247247 license due. No county or city collector may charge 230
248248 surcharge for payment by credit card which exceeds the fee 231
249249 or surcharge charged by the credit card bank, processor, or 232
250250 issuer for its service. A county or city collector may 233
251251 accept payment by electronic transfers of funds in payment 234
252252 of any tax or licens e and charge the person making such 235
253253 payment a fee equal to the fee charged the county by the 236
254254 bank, processor, or issuer of such electronic payment. 237
255255 14. Any county or city not within a county in this 238
256256 state may, by an affirmative vote of the governi ng body of 239 SB 786 9
257257 such county, opt out of the provisions of this section and 240
258258 sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as enacted by house 241
259259 bill no. 1150 of the ninety -first general assembly, second 242
260260 regular session and section 137.073 as modified by house 243
261261 committee substitute for senate substitute for senate 244
262262 committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, ninety -second 245
263263 general assembly, second regular session, for the next year 246
264264 of the general reassessment, prior to January first of any 247
265265 year. No county or city not within a county shall exercise 248
266266 this opt-out provision after implementing the provisions of 249
267267 this section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 250
268268 enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety -first general 251
269269 assembly, second regular session and se ction 137.073 as 252
270270 modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 253
271271 for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 254
272272 ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, in a 255
273273 year of general reassessment. For the purposes of apply ing 256
274274 the provisions of this subsection, a political subdivision 257
275275 contained within two or more counties where at least one of 258
276276 such counties has opted out and at least one of such 259
277277 counties has not opted out shall calculate a single tax rate 260
278278 as in effect prior to the enactment of house bill no. 1150 261
279279 of the ninety-first general assembly, second regular 262
280280 session. A governing body of a city not within a county or 263
281281 a county that has opted out under the provisions of this 264
282282 subsection may choose to implement th e provisions of this 265
283283 section and sections 137.073, 138.060, and 138.100 as 266
284284 enacted by house bill no. 1150 of the ninety -first general 267
285285 assembly, second regular session, and section 137.073 as 268
286286 modified by house committee substitute for senate substitute 269
287287 for senate committee substitute for senate bill no. 960, 270
288288 ninety-second general assembly, second regular session, for 271 SB 786 10
289289 the next year of general reassessment, by an affirmative 272
290290 vote of the governing body prior to December thirty -first of 273
291291 any year. 274
292292 15. The governing body of any city of the third 275
293293 classification with more than twenty -six thousand three 276
294294 hundred but fewer than twenty -six thousand seven hundred 277
295295 inhabitants located in any county that has exercised its 278
296296 authority to opt out under subsect ion 14 of this section may 279
297297 levy separate and differing tax rates for real and personal 280
298298 property only if such city bills and collects its own 281
299299 property taxes or satisfies the entire cost of the billing 282
300300 and collection of such separate and differing tax ra tes. 283
301301 Such separate and differing rates shall not exceed such 284
302302 city's tax rate ceiling. 285
303303 16. Any portion of real property that is available as 286
304304 reserve for strip, surface, or coal mining for minerals for 287
305305 purposes of excavation for future use or sale to others that 288
306306 has not been bonded and permitted under chapter 444 shall be 289
307307 assessed based upon how the real property is currently being 290
308308 used. Any information provided to a county assessor, state 291
309309 tax commission, state agency, or political subdivision 292
310310 responsible for the administration of tax policies shall, in 293
311311 the performance of its duties, make available all books, 294
312312 records, and information requested, except such books, 295
313313 records, and information as are by law declared confidential 296
314314 in nature, including individually identifiable information 297
315315 regarding a specific taxpayer or taxpayer's mine property. 298
316316 For purposes of this subsection, "mine property" shall mean 299
317317 all real property that is in use or readily available as a 300
318318 reserve for strip, surface, or coal mining for minerals for 301
319319 purposes of excavation for current or future use or sale to 302
320320 others that has been bonded and permitted under chapter 444. 303 SB 786 11
321321 137.132. 1. For the purposes of this section, and in 1
322322 any appeal alleging a violat ion thereof, the following terms 2
323323 shall mean: 3
324324 (1) "Common level of assessment", the ratio of the 4
325325 total of the assessor's assessed values for all real 5
326326 property in a subclass, as verified pursuant to section 6
327327 137.245, to the total of actual true valu es in money of the 7
328328 same real property, expressed as a percentage, and measured 8
329329 by an assessment ratio study; 9
330330 (2) "Individual level of assessment", the ratio of an 10
331331 assessor's assessed value for an individual parcel of real 11
332332 property, as verified pu rsuant to section 137.245, to the 12
333333 actual true value in money of such real property, expressed 13
334334 as a percentage. 14
335335 2. The level of assessment of all real property in 15
336336 subclass (1) or subclass (3), as provided in section 16
337337 137.115, shall be uniform and e qual throughout each 17
338338 subclass. If the common level of assessment in either 18
339339 subclass is lower than the individual level of assessment of 19
340340 any parcel in the same subclass, the individual level of 20
341341 assessment of such parcel shall be lowered to the common 21
342342 level of assessment for the subclass upon appeal by the 22
343343 property owner to the local board of equalization, state tax 23
344344 commission, or circuit court. 24
345345 3. When determining the individual level of assessment 25
346346 of a parcel of real property, the lesser of t he assessor's 26
347347 appraised value, as verified pursuant to section 137.245, or 27
348348 the appraised value set by the local board of equalization 28
349349 shall be presumed to be the actual true value in money for 29
350350 such real property, absent substantial and persuasive 30
351351 evidence establishing a lower true value in money. 31 SB 786 12
352352 138.060. 1. The county board of equalization shall, 1
353353 in a summary way, determine all appeals from the valuation 2
354354 of property made by the assessor, and shall correct and 3
355355 adjust the assessment accordingly. There shall be no 4
356356 presumption that the assessor's valuation is correct. In 5
357357 any county with a charter form of government with a 6
358358 population greater than two hundred eighty thousand 7
359359 inhabitants but less than two hundred eighty -five thousand 8
360360 inhabitants, in any county with a charter form of government 9
361361 with greater than one million inhabitants, in any city not 10
362362 within a county, and in any other county for any property 11
363363 whose assessed valuation increased at least fifteen percent 12
364364 from the previous assessment unless the increase is due to 13
365365 new construction or improvement, the assessor shall have the 14
366366 burden to prove that the assessor's valuation does not 15
367367 exceed the true market value of the subject property. In 16
368368 such county or city, in the event a physical inspection of 17
369369 the subject property is required by subsection 10 of section 18
370370 137.115, the assessor shall have the burden to establish the 19
371371 manner in which the physical inspection was performed and 20
372372 shall have the burden to prove that the physical inspection 21
373373 was performed in accordance with section 137.115. In such 22
374374 county or city, in the event the assessor fails to provide 23
375375 sufficient evidence to establish that the physical 24
376376 inspection was performed in accordance with section 137.115, 25
377377 the property owner shall prevail on the appeal as a matter 26
378378 of law, and the assessor's increased assessed valuation 27
379379 shall be void in its entirety, and the previous assessed 28
380380 valuation shall be applied to the property in place of the 29
381381 increased assessed val uation. At any hearing before the 30
382382 state tax commission or a court of competent jurisdiction of 31
383383 an appeal of assessment from a first class charter county or 32 SB 786 13
384384 a city not within a county, the assessor shall not advocate 33
385385 nor present evidence advocating a v aluation higher than that 34
386386 value finally determined by the assessor or the value 35
387387 determined by the board of equalization, whichever is 36
388388 higher, for that assessment period. 37
389389 2. The county clerk shall keep an accurate record of 38
390390 the proceedings and ord ers of the board, and the assessor 39
391391 shall correct all erroneous assessments, and the clerk shall 40
392392 adjust the tax book according to the orders of such board 41
393393 and the orders of the state tax commission, except that in 42
394394 adding or deducting such percent to eac h tract or parcel of 43
395395 real estate as required by such board or state tax 44
396396 commission, he shall add or deduct in each case any 45
397397 fractional sum of less than fifty cents, so that the value 46
398398 of any separate tract shall contain no fractions of a dollar. 47
399399 138.135. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of 1
400400 law to the contrary, the county assessor of any county of 2
401401 the first classification with a population of at least nine 3
402402 hundred thousand inhabitants shall not be a member of the 4
403403 county board of equalization. 5
404404 2. In any county of the first classification with a 6
405405 population of at least nine hundred thousand inhabitants, 7
406406 when there is an order of the board of equalization or the 8
407407 state tax commission, including a settlement order, relating 9
408408 to the assessment of property, the assessment shall remain 10
409409 the same for the subsequent even -numbered year unless there 11
410410 has been new construction or property improvements between 12
411411 January first of the odd -numbered year and January first of 13
412412 the following even-numbered year. However, in the event of 14
413413 a transfer of ownership of real property on or after January 15
414414 first of an even-numbered year, the new owner shall be 16
415415 entitled to appeal the assessed value directly to the state 17 SB 786 14
416416 tax commission by no later than December thirty -first of the 18
417417 same year, even if the prior owner appealed the value in the 19
418418 previous odd-numbered year and the appeal resulted in an 20
419419 order of the board of equalization or state tax commission. 21
420420 In any such appeal by a new own er, the state tax commission 22
421421 shall have authority to lower the assessed value for the 23
422422 even-numbered year. 24
423423 3. In any county of the first classification with a 25
424424 population of at least nine hundred thousand inhabitants, 26
425425 when a hearing is conducted by the board of equalization 27
426426 pursuant to this chapter, if the property owner requests to 28
427427 be heard by a majority of the board of equalization, and a 29
428428 majority of the board of equalization is not in attendance 30
429429 for any reason, the position of the property ow ner shall 31
430430 prevail without further action. 32
431431 138.434. In any first class charter county or a city 1
432432 not within a county [may require by ordinance or charter the 2
433433 reimbursement to], a taxpayer [for the amount of just and 3
434434 reasonable appraisal costs, attorney fees and court costs ] 4
435435 shall be entitled to an award of all attorney's fees and 5
436436 costs of litigation resulting from an evidentiary hearing 6
437437 before the state tax commission or a court of competent 7
438438 jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, attorney's 8
439439 fees, appraisal costs, witness fees, and court costs, 9
440440 whether paid directly by the taxpayer or paid by an 10
441441 attorney, tax agent, or other third party, if such appeal 11
442442 results in a final decision reducing the appraised value of 12
443443 residential property by at least fifteen percent or the 13
444444 appraised value of utility, industrial railroad and other 14
445445 subclass three property by at least twenty -five percent from 15
446446 the appraised value determined by the board of equalization 16
447447 for that tax year. The commission or court awarding such 17 SB 786 15
448448 fees and costs shall consider the reasonableness of the fees 18
449449 and costs within the context of the particular case. Such 19
450450 fees and costs shall not exceed [one] five thousand dollars 20
451451 for a residential property appeal. Such fees and costs for 21
452452 utility, industrial railroad or other subclass three 22
453453 property appeals shall not exceed the lesser of [four] five 23
454454 thousand dollars or twenty -five percent of the tax savings 24
455455 resulting from the appeal. The provisions of this section 25
456456 shall only apply to the first contested year when cases are 26
457457 tried on a consolidated basis. 27
458458 139.031. 1. Any taxpayer may protest all or any part 1
459459 of any current taxes assessed against the taxpayer, except 2
460460 taxes collected by the director of revenue of Missouri. Any 3
461461 such taxpayer desiring to pay any current taxes under 4
462462 protest or while paying taxes based upon a disputed 5
463463 assessment shall[, at the time of paying such taxes, ] make 6
464464 full payment of the current tax bill before the delinquen cy 7
465465 date and file with the collector before the delinquency date 8
466466 a written statement setting forth the grounds on which the 9
467467 protest is based. The statement shall include the true 10
468468 value in money claimed by the taxpayer if disputed. An 11
469469 appeal before the state tax commission shall not be 12
470470 dismissed on the grounds that a taxpayer failed to file a 13
471471 written statement when paying taxes based upon a disputed 14
472472 assessment. 15
473473 2. Upon receiving [payment of current taxes under ] 16
474474 written notice of protest under subsection 1 of this section 17
475475 or upon receiving from the state tax commission or the 18
476476 circuit court notice of an appeal from the state tax 19
477477 commission or the circuit court under section 138.430, 20
478478 [along with] and full payment of the current tax bill befor e 21
479479 the delinquency date, the collector shall disburse to the 22 SB 786 16
480480 proper official all portions of taxes not protested or not 23
481481 disputed by the taxpayer and shall impound in a separate 24
482482 fund all portions of such taxes which are protested or in 25
483483 dispute. Every taxpayer protesting the payment of current 26
484484 taxes under subsection 1 of this section shall, within 27
485485 ninety days after filing his protest, commence an action 28
486486 against the collector by filing a petition for the recovery 29
487487 of the amount protested in the circuit court of the county 30
488488 in which the collector maintains his office. If any 31
489489 taxpayer so protesting his taxes under subsection 1 of this 32
490490 section shall fail to commence an action in the circuit 33
491491 court for the recovery of the taxes protested within the 34
492492 time prescribed in this subsection, such protest shall 35
493493 become null and void and of no effect, and the collector 36
494494 shall then disburse to the proper official the taxes 37
495495 impounded, and any interest earned thereon, as provided 38
496496 above in this subsection. 39
497497 3. No action against the collector shall be commenced 40
498498 by any taxpayer who has, effective for the current tax year, 41
499499 filed with the state tax commission or the circuit court a 42
500500 timely and proper appeal of the assessment of the taxpayer's 43
501501 property. The portion of taxes in dispute from an appeal of 44
502502 an assessment shall be impounded in a separate fund and the 45
503503 commission in its decision and order issued under chapter 46
504504 138 or the circuit court in its judgment may order all or 47
505505 any part of such taxes refunded to the taxpayer, or may 48
506506 authorize the collector to release and disburse all or any 49
507507 part of such taxes. 50
508508 4. Trial of the action for recovery of taxes protested 51
509509 under subsection 1 of this section in the circuit court 52
510510 shall be in the manner prescribed f or nonjury civil 53
511511 proceedings, and, after determination of the issues, the 54 SB 786 17
512512 court shall make such orders as may be just and equitable to 55
513513 refund to the taxpayer all or any part of the current taxes 56
514514 paid under protest, together with any interest earned 57
515515 thereon, or to authorize the collector to release and 58
516516 disburse all or any part of the impounded taxes, and any 59
517517 interest earned thereon, to the appropriate officials of the 60
518518 taxing authorities. Either party to the proceedings may 61
519519 appeal the determination of the circuit court. 62
520520 5. All the county collectors of taxes, and the 63
521521 collector of taxes in any city not within a county, shall, 64
522522 upon written application of a taxpayer, refund or credit 65
523523 against the taxpayer's tax liability in the following 66
524524 taxable year and subsequent consecutive taxable years until 67
525525 the taxpayer has received credit in full for any real or 68
526526 personal property tax mistakenly or erroneously levied 69
527527 against the taxpayer and collected in whole or in part by 70
528528 the collector. Such application shall be filed within three 71
529529 years after the tax is mistakenly or erroneously paid. The 72
530530 governing body, or other appropriate body or official of the 73
531531 county or city not within a county, shall make available to 74
532532 the collector funds necessary to make r efunds under this 75
533533 subsection by issuing warrants upon the fund to which the 76
534534 mistaken or erroneous payment has been credited, or 77
535535 otherwise. 78
536536 6. No taxpayer shall receive any interest on any money 79
537537 paid in by the taxpayer erroneously. 80
538538 7. All protested taxes impounded under protest under 81
539539 subsection 1 of this section and all disputed taxes 82
540540 impounded under notice as required by section 138.430 shall 83
541541 be invested by the collector in the same manner as assets 84
542542 specified in section 30.260 for invest ment of state moneys. 85
543543 A taxpayer who is entitled to a refund of protested or 86 SB 786 18
544544 disputed taxes shall also receive the interest earned on the 87
545545 investment thereof. If the collector is ordered to release 88
546546 and disburse all or part of the taxes paid under prot est or 89
547547 dispute to the proper official, such taxes shall be 90
548548 disbursed along with the proportional amount of interest 91
549549 earned on the investment of the taxes due the particular 92
550550 taxing authority. 93
551551 8. Any taxing authority may request to be notified by 94
552552 the county collector of current taxes paid under protest. 95
553553 Such request shall be in writing and submitted on or before 96
554554 February first next following the delinquent date of current 97
555555 taxes paid under protest or disputed, and the county 98
556556 collector shall provide such information on or before March 99
557557 first of the same year to the requesting taxing authority of 100
558558 the taxes paid under protest and disputed taxes which would 101
559559 be received by such taxing authority if the funds were not 102
560560 the subject of a protest or dis pute. Any taxing authority 103
561561 may apply to the circuit court of the county or city not 104
562562 within a county in which a collector has impounded protested 105
563563 or disputed taxes under this section and, upon a 106
564564 satisfactory showing that such taxing authority would 107
565565 receive such impounded tax funds if they were not the 108
566566 subject of a protest or dispute and that such taxing 109
567567 authority has the financial ability and legal capacity to 110
568568 repay such impounded tax funds in the event a decision 111
569569 ordering a refund to the taxpayer is subsequently made, the 112
570570 circuit court shall order, pendente lite, the disbursal of 113
571571 all or any part of such impounded tax funds to such taxing 114
572572 authority. The circuit court issuing an order under this 115
573573 subsection shall retain jurisdiction of such matte r for 116
574574 further proceedings, if any, to compel restitution of such 117
575575 tax funds to the taxpayer. In the event that any protested 118 SB 786 19
576576 or disputed tax funds refunded to a taxpayer were disbursed 119
577577 to a taxing authority under this subsection instead of being 120
578578 held and invested by the collector under subsection 7 of 121
579579 this section, the taxpayer shall be entitled to interest on 122
580580 all refunded tax funds , from the date that the disputed 123
581581 taxes were distributed to a taxing authority through the 124
582582 date of the refund, at the [annual rate] rates calculated by 125
583583 the state treasurer and applied by the director of revenue 126
584584 under section 32.068. This measure of interest shall only 127
585585 apply to protested or disputed tax funds actually 128
586586 distributed to a taxing authority pursuant to this 129
587587 subsection. In the event of a refund of protested or 130
588588 disputed tax funds which remain impounded by the collector, 131
589589 the taxpayer shall instead be entitled to the interest 132
590590 actually earned on those refunded impounded tax funds under 133
591591 subsection 7 of this section. Any sovereign or official 134
592592 immunity otherwise applicable to the taxing authorities is 135
593593 hereby waived for all purposes related to this subsection, 136
594594 and the taxpayer is expressly authorized to seek an order 137
595595 enforcing this provision from the circui t court that 138
596596 originally ordered the distribution of the protested or 139
597597 disputed funds, or directly from the state tax commission, 140
598598 if the tax appeal that resulted in the refund was heard and 141
599599 determined by the state tax commission. 142
600600 9. No appeal filed from the circuit court's or state 143
601601 tax commission's determination pertaining to the amount of 144
602602 refund shall stay any order of refund, but the decision 145
603603 filed by any court of last review modifying that 146
604604 determination shall be binding on the parties, and th e 147
605605 decision rendered shall be complied with by the party 148
606606 affected by any modification within ninety days of the date 149
607607 of such decision. No taxpayer shall receive any interest on 150 SB 786 20
608608 any additional award of refund, and the collector shall not 151
609609 receive any interest on any ordered return of refund in 152
610610 whole or in part. In the event that a taxpayer is entitled 153
611611 to a refund, the collector shall issue the refund to the 154
612612 taxpayer within thirty days of the date that the circuit 155
613613 court's or state tax commission's de termination establishing 156
614614 the amount of the refund becomes final, and if the collector 157
615615 does not issue the refund within thirty days, the taxpayer 158
616616 shall be entitled to interest on the refund at the rate 159
617617 established by the director of revenue under sectio n 32.065 160
618618 for the period of time after the expiration of the thirty 161
619619 days and until the refund is issued, in addition to all 162
620620 other interest due to the taxpayer under this section. 163
621621