 |
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
property tax assessment; destroyed property
Purpose
Allows a county assessor to maintain a property's property classification in place on the date the property is destroyed for five years or until an objectively verifiable change in use occurs, whichever is sooner.
Background
Property in Arizona is classified for assessment purposes into nine legal classes, with subclassifications in many of those classes. The classification is based on the current use of the property by its owner, such as commercial, agricultural or residential. Each legal class has an assessment ratio specified by statute. The assessment ratio is used to calculate the assessed value of a property.
Each county assessor must: 1) prepare a real and personal property assessment roll in a form prescribed by the Arizona Department of Revenue; and 2) review assessment information on a continuing basis to ensure proper classification of residential dwellings. By December 20, the county assessor must complete the assessment roll and attach the county assessor's certificate to the roll with a cross-index of all property listed in the roll, showing the ownership of the property and all assessment lists from which the roll was compiled. The county assessor must deliver the lists and certified roll to the clerk of the county board of supervisors who must file the lists and roll in the clerk's office (A.R.S. §§ 42-15151; 42-12052 and 42-15153).
If a property is destroyed after the county assessor closes the assessment rolls, the property owner may file a notice of claim to prorate the valuation of the property from the date of destruction. If the county assessor finds that the property has been destroyed, the county assessor must prorate the value of the property from the lien date to the date of destruction. Additionally, the county treasurer must compute the amount of taxes assessed against the property by applying the tax rate for the appropriate tax year to the original valuation prorated for the portion of the year the property was intact, plus the tax rate for the appropriate tax year to the reassessed value of the property prorated for the balance of the year (A.R.S. § 42-15157).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Allows a county assessor to maintain a property's property classification in place on the date the property is destroyed for a period of five years after the destruction or until an objectively verifiable change in property use occurs, whichever is sooner.
2. Requires a county assessor to notify a property owner of the property assessment in compliance with applicable statutory notice requirements.
3. Allows, for a property that is destroyed after a county assessor closes the assessment rolls, the county assessor to issue a notice of proposed correction to prorate the valuation of the property from the date of destruction.
4. Defines destroyed as physical destruction caused by a verifiable accident, including fire, flood or any other act of God.
5. Makes technical and conforming changes.
6. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
WM 1/24/24 DP 9-0-0-1
3rd Read 2/1/24 55-0-1-0-4
Prepared by Senate Research
February 22, 2024
MG/AB/cs