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FLORIDA’S VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD PROCESS October 30, 2008. Howard Moyes Deputy Director Property Tax Oversight Florida Department of Revenue. PRESENTATION OVERVIEW. Intent and Purpose of House Bill 909 House Bill 909 Requirements DOR Activities – Current & Anticipated Q & A.
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FLORIDA’S VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD PROCESSOctober 30, 2008 Howard Moyes Deputy Director Property Tax Oversight Florida Department of Revenue
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW • Intent and Purpose of House Bill 909 • House Bill 909 Requirements • DOR Activities – Current & Anticipated • Q & A
HB909 INTENT AND PURPOSE • VAB process in all 67 counties shall be • Uniform • Fair • Impartial • Independent • Professional • Training and assistance to VABs by DOR • Clarify PA’s presumption of correctness • Clarify highest and best use
COMPOSITION OF VAB • Revises composition of the VAB • Two Citizen members, two County Commissioners, one School Board Member • One Citizen appointed by the County Commission that must own homestead property • One Citizen appointed by School Board that must own a business occupying commercial space • One Citizen member must be present to have a quorum
VAB ATTORNEY • Qualifications • Private attorney • Practiced law for at least 5 years • Does not represent any of the following parties in any administrative or judicial review of property taxes: • Property Appraiser • Tax Collector • Any Taxing Authority • Any Property Owner
TRAINING REQUIREMENTS • Requires DOR to provide training for VAB members, attorneys and special magistrates • Special magistrate training substitutes for two of the required five years of experience • For counties with populations less than 75,000, either all five VAB members must complete the training or the private counsel must complete the training • Training is open to the public
TRAINING (CONTINUED) • Limited interim training for VAB members and/or attorneys currently available on DOR’s web site • Required for counties with population less than 75,000 that do not use special magistrates • Others recommended to take training but not required to do so • http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/vabwb/vabtraining.html • Special magistrate training will be delivered in at least 5 locations before June 30, 2009 • Current qualified special magistrates are not required to take training but are encouraged to do so
PETITIONS & HIGHESTAND BEST USE • Revises “Tax Impact of VAB” notice • Includes the number of parcels for which petitions were filed that were settled or withdrawn • Revises s.193.011(2) “Highest and Best use” to take into consideration the legally permissible use of the property • As well as any zoning changes, concurrency requirements, or permits necessary to achieve highest and best use
PROPERTY APPRAISER’S PRESUMPTION OF CORRECTNESS • Statement of Legislative Intent – Burden of Proof • Taxpayer shall never have the burden of proving the PA’s assessment is not supported by any reasonable hypothesis • Any cases applying the every reasonable hypothesis since 1997 are expressly rejected
DATA REPORTING REQUIREMENTS • Required data reporting by DOR • Increase in Ad Valorem taxes for each city and county • Distribution of Ad Valorem taxes among classifications of property • Current and prior year millage rates • Requires data to be published on DOR website and the website of all PA’s, if available.
DOR ACTIVITIES • VAB Forms (On DOR’s Web Site) • DR-486A Alternative Petition to Value Adjustment Board • Removes optional information fields • Clarifies that no letter of authorization is required to file a petition • Counties may not use non-DOR forms • DR-485A and DR-485MAG Decision of VAB & Recommended Decision of Special Magistrate • DR-488 Certificate of VAB • DR-529 Tax Impact of Value Adjustment Board notice • http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/vabwb/vabws.html
FORMS (CONTINUED) • Property Appraiser Forms (on Web Site) • DR-485R Value Adjustment Board Remand to Property Appraiser • DR-490 Notice of Disapproval of Application for Property Tax Exemption by the County Property Appraiser • http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/vabwb/vabws.html
DOR RULESCURRENT DRAFTS ON DOR WEB SITE • Draft Rule Chapter 12D-9, F.A.C. • Uniform Rules of Procedure • Duties of the Board, Special Magistrates & Clerks • VAB Petitions & Hearing Notices • Standards of Conduct • Written Authorizations for Confidential Info • Disqualification/Recusal of Special Magistrates • Ex Parte Communication Prohibition • Procedures for Remand Assessments • Other Rules of Procedure • http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/vabwb/vabws.html
DOR RULES (CONTINUED) • Draft Rule Chapter 12D-10, F.A.C. • Composition of VAB & Requirements for Decisions by VABs • Taxpayer Rights and Responsibilities • Composition of VAB • Scope and Process of Admin Review of Exemptions, Classification, Assessments & Portability • Appointment & Employment of Special Magistrates • Requirements for Decisions by SMs and VABs • Uniform Procedures for Hearings & Evidence Exchange • Other • http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/vabwb/vabws.html
DOR’S CURRENT & ANTICIPATED NEXT STEPS • Rule Development Workshops • May to November 2008 • November 19 in Orlando and November 20 in Miami • Limited Interim Training for VAB members and/or attorneys in counties with less than 75k population that do not use special magistrates • August 2008 - Current • Rule Hearings • December 2008 to January 2009 (tentative) • Uniform Policies and Procedures Manual • April 2009 (tentative) • Special Magistrate Training • May to June 2009 (tentative)
SUMMARY • Intent & Purpose of HB 909 • HB 909 Requirements • DOR Activities – Current & Anticipated • Questions?