_______________________________________________
HOUSE
BILL 1439
_______________________________________________
Passed
Legislature - 1997 Regular Session
AS
AMENDED BY THE SENATE
State of Washington 55th
Legislature 1997 Regular Session
By
Read first time 01/27/97.
Referred to Committee on Finance.
Authorizing
counties to set deadlines for petitioning for changes in assessed valuation.
AN
ACT Relating to authorizing counties to set deadlines for petitioning county
boards of equalization for changes in assessed valuation; and amending RCW
84.40.038.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
84.40.038 and 1994 c 123 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The owner or person responsible for payment of taxes on any property may
petition the county board of equalization for a change in the assessed
valuation placed upon such property by the county assessor. Such petition must
be made on forms prescribed or approved by the department of revenue and any
petition not conforming to those requirements or not properly completed shall
not be considered by the board. The petition must be filed with the board on
or before July 1st of the year of the assessment ((or)), within thirty
days after the date an assessment or value change notice has been mailed, or
within a time limit of up to sixty days adopted by the county legislative
authority, whichever is later. If a county legislative authority sets a
time limit, the authority may not change the limit for three years from the
adoption of the limit.
(2)
The board of equalization may waive the filing deadline if the petition is
filed within a reasonable time after the filing deadline and the petitioner
shows good cause for the late filing. The decision of the board of
equalization regarding a waiver of the filing deadline is final and not
appealable under RCW 84.08.130. Good cause may be shown by one or more of the
following events or circumstances:
(a)
Death or serious illness of the taxpayer or his or her immediate family;
(b)
The taxpayer was absent from the address where the taxpayer normally receives
the assessment or value change notice, was absent for more than fifteen days
of the ((thirty)) days ((prior to)) allowed in subsection (1)
of this section before the filing deadline, and the filing deadline is
after July 1;
(c)
Incorrect written advice regarding filing requirements received from board of
equalization staff, county assessor's staff, or staff of the property tax
advisor designated under RCW 84.48.140;
(d)
Natural disaster such as flood or earthquake;
(e)
Delay or loss related to the delivery of the petition by the postal service,
and documented by the postal service; or
(f)
Other circumstances as the department may provide by rule.
(3) The owner or person responsible for payment of taxes on any
property may request that the appeal be heard by the state board of tax appeals
without a hearing by the county board of equalization when the assessor, the
owner or person responsible for payment of taxes on the property, and a
majority of the county board of equalization agree that a direct appeal to the
state board of tax appeals is appropriate. The state board of tax appeals may
reject the appeal, in which case the county board of equalization shall
consider the appeal under RCW 84.48.010. Notice of such a rejection, together
with the reason therefor, shall be provided to the affected parties and the
county board of equalization within thirty days of receipt of the direct appeal
by the state board.
