CCS HCS SS SCS SB 711 -- PROPERTY TAXATION

This bill changes the laws regarding property taxation by
requiring tax rate rollbacks by all political subdivisions in
reassessment years, changing the way voter-approved tax increases
are applied to assessed values, changing the time line for the
assessment and appeal of property taxes, and changing the
property tax credit limits.  In its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Prohibits penalties and interest on the erroneous payment of
property taxes when there is clear and convincing evidence that
the county made an error in determining the tax amount due.  Any
penalty or interest paid by the taxpayer will be refunded upon
the discovery of the error;

(2)  Increases the maximum upper income limit to $30,000, the
spouse exemption to $4,000, and the amount of the credit to
$1,100 for homeowners under the senior citizen/disabled person
property tax credit;

(3)  Revises the definition of "agricultural and horticultural
property" as it relates to property tax to include real property
devoted primarily to showing horses;

(4)  Repeals the requirement that owners of marinas or other
comparable facilities providing dockage or storage space submit
personal property lists of the property located at their
facilities to the county assessor where the properties are
located for property tax assessment.  The bill also repeals the
requirement that operators of rental and leasing facilities
provide a description of the personal property located within the
rental and leasing facilities to the county assessor;

(5)  Clarifies the term "base year," extends the deadline to file
an application from September 30 to October 15, and requires the
Director of the Department of Revenue to determine the
apportionment percentage by equally distributing it among all
eligible applicants for the Missouri Homestead Preservation Act;

(6)  Requires voter-approved property tax rate increases to be
applied to a political subdivision's most recent total assessed
valuation, as certified by the city or county on or before the
date of the election.  Every political subdivision in a
reassessment year must roll back its prior year's tax rate
regardless of whether the political subdivision was levying the
tax at its tax rate ceiling.  A political subdivision can modify
its tax rate, not to exceed its maximum authorized voter-approved
levy, through the adoption of an ordinance, resolution, or policy
statement in a non-reassessment year;

(7)  Requires all counties and the City of St. Louis to allow
public testimony at the public hearing prior to setting the tax
rates;

(8)  Allows charter counties and the City of St. Louis to set
their tax rates by October 1 instead of September 20;

(9)  Requires assessors for the City of St. Louis and all charter
counties to notify taxpayers by June 15 of real property
assessment increases and the county to provide an estimated tax
liability for the property beginning January 1, 2009;

(10)  Requires assessors for non-charter counties to notify
taxpayers by June 15 of real property assessment increases and
the county to provide an estimated tax liability for the property
beginning January 1, 2011;

(11)  Requires assessors to provide the city or county clerks
with assessment books by March 1 of each year to assist with
determining the estimated tax liability on properties with
increased assessed valuations.  The clerks must make abstracts of
the assessment books showing the aggregate amount of different
types of property and the valuation of each type for each
political subdivision levying taxes on property;

(12)  Requires governing bodies of political subdivisions to
informally project non-binding tax rate levies from the
information provided in the abstracts and provide the projected
levies to the clerk by April 8 of each year;

(13)  Requires the county collector to calculate the projected
tax liability for each property for which the assessor intends to
provide a notice of increased assessed valuation by April 30 by
utilizing the projected tax levies;

(14)  Reduces a political subdivision's tax levy by 20% for the
tax year if it fails to provide projected tax levies by April 8
unless the failure is a direct result of a delinquency in
providing, or failure to provide, the required information by
either the clerk or the assessor;

(15)  Specifies that the estimation of the value of depreciable
tangible personal property for mass appraisal purposes will not
be construed to create a presumption as to the proper method of
determining the assessed valuation of business personal property
placed in service prior to January 2, 2006;

(16)  Extends the requirement that certain counties and the City
of St. Louis must deduct a percentage of all property tax
collections and deposit the amount into the county's assessment
fund from December 31, 2009, to December 31, 2015.  Beginning
July 1, 2009, the bill increases the percentage deducted from
either 1/8 of 1% or 1/4 of 1% to either 1/8 of 1% or 1/2 of 1%
and increases the income limits from $100,000 to $125,000 in any
year for first classification and charter counties and from
$50,000 to $75,000 for second, third, and fourth classification
counties.  If the commission withholds state assessment
reimbursement funds from a county for three consecutive quarters,
the extra 1/8 of 1% or 1/2 of 1% collection revenues in the
county assessment fund will be forfeited and returned by the
county to the political subdivisions within the county;

(17)  Changes which counties of the first classification are
required to withhold 1% of all property taxes to be deposited
into the county's assessment fund;

(18)  Specifies that the true value in money for assessment
purposes of any possessory interest in real property located on
or within the ultimate airport boundary shown by a federal
airport layout plan of a commercial airport owned by a political
subdivision will be the true value in money of the possessory
interest in the real property less the total costs paid toward
any new construction or improvements completed on the property
after January 1, 2008, if included in the possessory interest,
unless paid by the political subdivision, regardless of the year
the costs were incurred;

(19)  Authorizes, beginning January 1, 2009, a property tax
credit for expenses incurred to manufacture, maintain, or improve
a freight line company's qualified rolling stock up to the amount
of its tax liability.  Subject to appropriations, the state will
annually reimburse a political subdivision for any loss in
revenue;

(20)  Changes the date that the St. Louis County Board of
Equalization convenes from the first Monday in June to the first
Monday in July;

(21)  Requires the State Tax Commission to develop or enter into
contracts for the development of computer software programs which
will produce the notice of projected tax liability.  Any
collector that files a request with the commission before
December 31, 2009, will be provided with the computer software
programs;

(22)  Requires the circuit court clerk to send the county
collector a notice when a taxpayer timely files an appeal seeking
exemption of a final decision of the local board of equalization.
The notice must contain the taxpayer's name, the case number
assigned by the court, and the parcel or locator number of the
property being appealed.  The notice to the collector must state
that the taxes in dispute are to be impounded;

(23)  Requires the commission to send the county collector a
notice of appeal when a taxpayer timely files an appeal.  The
notice must contain the taxpayer's name, the appeal number
assigned by the commission, the assessed value provided to the
local board of equalization, and the assessed value proposed by
the taxpayer if the values are available to the commission when
the appeal is filed.  The notice must also specifically state
that the taxes in dispute are to be impounded; and if the notice
is filed in an odd-numbered year, it will serve as notice to the
collector to impound taxes for the following even-numbered year
if no decision has been rendered in the appeal;

(24)  Relieves a taxpayer from the requirement of filing a
statement of protest if the taxpayer filed an appeal from a local
board of equalization to the commission or circuit court;

(25)  Changes several provisions of law regarding the
notification of appeal of assessment and the impounding,
investing, and refunding of protested tax payments;

(26)  Specifies that school districts which levy a tax rate below
the performance levy due to mandatory roll-backs in the
provisions of the bill will continue to be eligible to receive
grants currently provided to small school districts.  Political
subdivisions with voter-approved rate increases subsequent to
setting their most recent tax rate are exempt from the provisions
regarding the mandatory rollback in reassessment years;

(27)  Repeals the requirement that the commission notify each
school district of the equivalent sales ratio for the previous
year which was adopted to determine the equalized assessed
valuation of the property and the equalized operating levy of the
school district for distributions under the previous school
foundation formula;

(28)  Establishes the Office of State Ombudsman for Property
Assessment and Taxation within the commission to help assure the
fairness, accountability, and transparency of the property tax
process;

(29)  Requires additional ballot language on school bond issues
in all school districts to include the estimated increase in the
debt service property tax levy for the district; and

(30)  Limits the fee charged by the Department of Revenue for
motor vehicle and driver's records to .5 cents per record for
batch/bulk customer requests.

The provisions of the bill regarding the qualified rolling stock
property tax credit will expire six years after the effective
date.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated October 15, 2008 at 3:12 pm