AN
ACT Relating to property tax reform; amending RCW 84.40.045, 84.56.050,
84.52.054, and 84.56.020; creating new sections; repealing RCW 84.56.022; and
prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
PART
I
FULL
PROPERTY TAX DISCLOSURE
Sec.
101. RCW
84.40.045 and 1994 c 301 s 36 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The assessor shall give notice of any change in the true and fair value of real
property for the tract or lot of land and any improvements thereon no later
than thirty days after appraisal((: PROVIDED, That)). However,
no such notice shall be mailed during the period from January 15 to February 15
of each year((: PROVIDED FURTHER, That)). In addition, no
notice need be sent with respect to changes in valuation of forest land made
pursuant to chapter 84.33 RCW.
(2)
The notice shall contain the following information and this information
shall be separately stated on the notice:
(a)
A statement of both the prior and the new true and fair value ((and)),
stating separately land and improvement values;
(b)
The ratio of the assessed value to the true and fair value on which the
assessment of the property is based((, stating separately land and
improvement values, and));
(c)
A brief statement of the procedure for appeal to the board of equalization
and the time, date, and place of the meetings of the board;
(d)
A statement informing the taxpayer that the taxpayer may call the county to
request a copy of the property tax statement that is issued under RCW
84.56.050. The copy of the property tax notice shall clearly state in
bold-face type that it is not a bill and is for informational purposes only;
and
(e)
A statement that information concerning the zoning and other land use
restrictions on the property may be obtained by calling the city or county
planning department.
(3)
The notice shall be mailed by the assessor to the taxpayer. For the
purposes of this section, "taxpayer" means any person charged, or
whose property is charged, with property tax.
(4)
If any taxpayer, as shown by the tax rolls, holds solely a security interest in
the real property which is the subject of the notice, pursuant to a mortgage,
contract of sale, or deed of trust, such taxpayer shall((, upon written
request of the assessor,)) supply((, within thirty days of receipt of
such request,)) to the assessor for the county in which the parcel is
located the name and address of the person making payments for property
tax purposes pursuant to the mortgage, contract of sale, or deed of trust,
and thereafter such person shall also receive a copy of the notice provided for
in this section. Willful failure to comply with ((such request within the
time limitation provided for herein shall)) this subsection makes
such taxpayer subject to a maximum civil penalty of five dollars for each
parcel of real property in which it holds the security interest, the aggregate
of such penalties in any one year not to exceed five thousand dollars. The
penalties provided for ((herein)) in this subsection shall be
recoverable in an action by the county prosecutor, and when recovered shall be
deposited in the county current expense fund. ((The assessor shall make the
request provided for by this section during the month of January.))
Sec.
102. RCW
84.56.050 and 1991 c 245 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
On receiving the tax rolls the county treasurer shall post all real and
personal property taxes from the rolls to the treasurer's tax roll, and shall
carry forward to the current tax rolls a memorandum of all delinquent taxes on
each and every description of property, and enter the same on the property upon
which the taxes are delinquent showing the amounts for each year.
(2)
The treasurer shall notify each taxpayer in the county, at the expense of the
county, of the amount of the real and personal property, and the current and
delinquent amount of tax due on the same; and the treasurer shall have printed
on the notice the name of each tax and the levy made on the same.
(3)
As soon as practical, but not later than the first tax year after a major
change in data systems or software used by the treasurer or tax year 2003,
whichever is earlier, the notice shall at a minimum contain the following
information and this information must be separately stated on the notice:
(a)
The name and address of the taxpayer;
(b)
The name, address, and telephone number of the county issuing the notice;
(c)
The parcel number as noted in the county records;
(d)
The property address if one exists, or the abbreviated legal description;
(e)
The year for which the taxes are due;
(f)
The assessed valuation of the parcel's land value and improvement value, and
the assessment year, determined by the county assessor's office;
(g)
Current billing information containing each type of taxing jurisdiction levying
a tax on the identified parcel, and the total amount due for each type of
taxing jurisdiction:
(i)
As a result of regular property taxes, expressed as a dollar amount; and
(ii)
As a result of the aggregate of all voter-approved levies, including special
levies and assessments, expressed as a dollar amount;
(h)
The total taxes due and payable from the taxpayer, including any delinquent
taxes when included and any interest or penalties due as of a specific future
date. The treasurer shall include a phone number for current interest and
penalty calculations; and
(i)
A notice of the payment due dates and possible delinquency penalties and
interest.
(4)
In any county where the county treasurer includes multiple parcels of land on a
combined tax statement to a single owner, the county treasurer is not required
to comply with subsection (3)(d) and (g) of this section. A taxpayer may
request a separate tax statement on any or all parcels.
(5)
The county treasurer shall be the sole collector of all delinquent taxes and
all other taxes due and collectible on the tax rolls of the county((:
PROVIDED, That)).
(6)
For the purposes of this section, the term "taxpayer" ((as
used in this section shall)) means any person charged, or whose
property is charged, with property tax((; and)).
(7)
The person to be notified under subsection (2) of this section is ((that))
the person whose name appears on the tax rolls ((herein
mentioned: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That)) of the county issuing the notice.
If no name so appears the person to be notified is that person shown by the
treasurer's tax rolls or duplicate tax receipts of any preceding year as the
payer of the tax last paid on the property in question.
(8)
The name of the state property tax levy for the support of the common schools
shall be entitled "state property tax levy" and shall not indicate
its use for the support of the common schools.
Sec.
103. RCW
84.52.054 and 1986 c 133 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
Any ballot proposition submitted to the voters requesting the additional
tax provided for in ((subparagraph (a) of the seventeenth amendment to))
Article VII, section 2 (a) and (b) of the state Constitution ((as
amended by Amendment 59 and as thereafter amended,)) and specifically
authorized by RCW 84.52.052, ((as now or hereafter amended, and RCW))
84.52.053 ((and)), 84.52.0531, and 84.52.056, or any other
proposition submitted to the voters for regular or excess property tax levies
shall ((be set forth in terms of dollars on the ballot of the proposition to
be submitted to the voters, together with an estimate of the dollar rate of tax
levy that will be required to produce the dollar amount; and)) contain
the following information in the official ballot title submitted to the voters:
(a)
The total dollar amount proposed to be collected during the entire period of
the levy;
(b)
An estimate of the dollar rate of the tax levy that will be required for each
one thousand dollars of assessed value to produce the total dollar amount
proposed in (a) of this subsection;
(c)
An estimate of the total tax liability for one hundred thousand dollars of
taxable value based on the estimated dollar amount of tax levy in (b) of this
subsection; and
(d)
A statement of the proposed use or uses of the tax levies requested.
(2)
Any ballot proposition submitted to the voters requesting the additional tax
provided for in Article VII, section 2 (a) and (b) of the state Constitution
and specifically authorized by RCW 84.52.052, 84.52.053, 84.52.0531, and
84.52.056, or any other proposition submitted to the voters for regular or
excess property tax levies lasting longer than one year shall contain the
following information in the official ballot title submitted to the voters:
(a)
The total dollar amount proposed to be collected during the entire period of
the levy;
(b)
The total dollar amount proposed to be collected during each year of the period
for which the tax levy is proposed. The total dollar amount for each annual
levy in the period may be equal or in different amounts;
(c)
An estimate of the dollar rate of the tax levy that will be required for each
one thousand dollars of assessed value to produce the total dollar amounts
proposed in (b) of this subsection;
(d)
A statement as to whether the proposed levy is a new levy or a replacement
levy, and if a replacement levy, an estimate of the proposed increase or
decrease of the dollar rate of the tax levy as compared with the existing levy;
(e)
An estimate of the total tax liability for one hundred thousand dollars of
taxable value based on the estimated dollar amount of tax levy in (b) of this
subsection; and
(f)
A statement of the proposed use or uses of the tax levies requested.
(3)
The county assessor, in spreading ((this)) any voter-approved
tax upon the rolls, shall determine the eventual dollar rate required to
produce the amount of dollars so voted upon, regardless of the estimate of
dollar rate of tax levy carried in ((said)) the proposition. ((In
the case of a school district proposition for a particular period, the dollar
amount and the corresponding estimate of the dollar rate of tax levy shall be
set forth for each of the years in that period. The dollar amount for each
annual levy in the particular period may be equal or in different amounts.))
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 104. RCW
84.56.022 and 1995 c 180 s 1 & 1994 c 301 s 48 are each
repealed.
PART
II
REVISED
BILLING PROCEDURES
Sec.
201. RCW
84.56.020 and 1996 c 153 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The county treasurer shall be the receiver and collector of all taxes extended
upon the tax rolls of the county, whether levied for state, county, school,
bridge, road, municipal or other purposes, and also of all fines, forfeitures
or penalties received by any person or officer for the use of his or her
county.
All
taxes upon real and personal property made payable by the provisions of this
title shall be due and payable to the county treasurer on or before the
thirtieth day of April and, except as provided in this section, shall be
delinquent after that date.
(2)
Each tax statement shall include a notice that checks for payment of taxes due
under this title may be made payable to "Treasurer of
. . . . . . County" or other appropriate office,
but tax statements shall not include any suggestion that checks may be made
payable to the name of the individual holding the office of treasurer nor any
other individual.
(3)
When the total amount of tax or special assessments on personal property or on
any lot, block or tract of real property payable by one person is fifty dollars
or more, and if one-half of such tax be paid on or before the thirtieth day of
April, the remainder of such tax shall be due and payable on or before the
thirty-first day of October following and shall be delinquent after that date.
(4)
When the total amount of tax or special assessments on any lot, block or tract
of real property or on any mobile home payable by one person is fifty dollars
or more, and if one-half of such tax be paid after the thirtieth day of April
but before the thirty-first day of October, together with the applicable
interest and penalty on one-half of the full amount of tax payable for
that year, the remainder of such tax shall be due and payable on or before the thirty-first
day of October following and shall be delinquent after that date.
(5)
Delinquent taxes under this section are subject to interest at the rate of
twelve percent per annum computed on a monthly basis on the full year amount of
tax unpaid from the date of delinquency until paid. Interest shall be
calculated at the rate in effect at the time of payment of the tax, regardless
of when the taxes were first delinquent. In addition, delinquent taxes under
this section are subject to penalties as follows:
(a)
A penalty of three percent of the full year amount of tax unpaid shall be
assessed on the tax delinquent on June 1st of the year in which the tax is due.
(b)
An additional penalty of eight percent shall be assessed on the amount of tax
delinquent on December 1st of the year in which the tax is due.
(6)
((Subsection (5) of this section notwithstanding, no interest or penalties
may be assessed for the period April 30, 1996, through December 31, 1996, on
delinquent taxes imposed in 1995 for collection in 1996 which are imposed on
the personal residences owned by military personnel who participated in the
situation known as "Joint Endeavor."
(7))) For
purposes of this chapter, "interest" means both interest and
penalties.
(((8)))
(7) All collections of interest on delinquent taxes shall be credited to
the county current expense fund; but the cost of foreclosure and sale of real
property, and the fees and costs of distraint and sale of personal property,
for delinquent taxes, shall, when collected, be credited to the operation and
maintenance fund of the county treasurer prosecuting the foreclosure or
distraint or sale; and shall be used by the county treasurer as a revolving
fund to defray the cost of further foreclosure, distraint and sale for delinquent
taxes without regard to budget limitations.
PART
III
EFFECTIVE
DATE
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 301. This
act is effective for taxes levied for collection in 1998 and thereafter.
PART
IV
MISCELLANEOUS
NEW SECTION. Sec. 401. Part
headings used in this act are not any part of the law.
