SB2951 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB098 16883 HLH 51957 b

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB2951

Introduced 2/4/2014, by Sen. Tim Bivins

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

35 ILCS 200/12-37 new
35 ILCS 200/16-185
35 ILCS 200/23-20

Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that whenever, as the result of a final order of the Property Tax Appeal Board or any court, a property assessment is reduced for a tax year for which the taxes have already been paid and the subject property is still owned by the same person, entity, or a successor entity, the chief county assessment officer shall award to the taxpayer obtaining the order a compensatory assessment reduction for the next assessment year available for assessment adjustment. Provides that the amount of the compensatory assessment reduction shall be equal to the assessment reduction for the prior year or years as ordered by Property Tax Appeal Board or court and provides that the amount may be carried forward. Provides that the award of compensatory assessment reductions shall take place prior to and shall be considered in the determination of tax rates by the county clerk. Provides that the award of compensatory assessment reductions shall not affect the determination of the fair market value of the subject property or its assessed valuation once the compensatory assessment reductions have been exhausted.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning revenue.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing Sections 16-185 and 23-20 and by adding Section 12-37 as follows:

(35 ILCS 200/12-37 new)

Sec. 12-37. Compensatory assessment reductions. Whenever, as the result of a final order of the Property Tax Appeal Board or any court, a property assessment is reduced for a tax year for which the taxes have already been paid and the subject property is still owned by the same person, entity, or a successor entity, the chief county assessment officer shall award to the taxpayer obtaining the order a compensatory assessment reduction for the next assessment year available for assessment adjustment.

The amount of the compensatory assessment reduction shall be equal to the assessment reduction for the prior year or years as ordered by Property Tax Appeal Board or court. If the total amount of the ordered reductions exceeds the assessed valuation for the subject parcel in the next available assessment year, the chief county assessment officer shall reduce the assessed value to zero dollars for that year and thereafter reduce the assessed value of the subject property for the next following assessment year or years until the aggregate amount of the compensatory assessment reduction equals the full amount of the assessment reductions ordered by the Property Tax Appeal Board or court.

The award of compensatory assessment reductions under this Section shall take place prior to and shall be considered in the determination of tax rates by the county clerk. The award of compensatory assessment reductions under this Section, however, shall not affect the determination of the fair market value of the subject property or its assessed valuation once the compensatory assessment reductions required by this Section have been exhausted.

(35 ILCS 200/16-185)

Sec. 16-185. Decisions. The Board shall make a decision in each appeal or case appealed to it, and the decision shall be based upon equity and the weight of evidence and not upon constructive fraud, and shall be binding upon appellant and officials of government. The extension of taxes on any assessment so appealed shall not be delayed by any proceeding before the Board, and, in case the assessment is altered by the Board, any taxes extended upon the unauthorized assessment or part thereof shall be abated, or, if already paid, shall be, where applicable, the basis for a compensatory assessment reduction under Section 12-37 or shall be refunded with interest as provided in Section 23-20.

The decision or order of the Property Tax Appeal Board in any such appeal, shall, within 10 days thereafter, be certified at no charge to the appellant and to the proper authorities, including the board of review or board of appeals whose decision was appealed, the county clerk who extends taxes upon the assessment in question, and the county collector who collects property taxes upon such assessment.

If the Property Tax Appeal Board renders a decision lowering the assessment of a particular parcel after the deadline for filing complaints with the board of review or board of appeals or after adjournment of the session of the board of review or board of appeals at which assessments for the subsequent year are being considered, the taxpayer may, within 30 days after the date of written notice of the Property Tax Appeal Board's decision, appeal the assessment for the subsequent year directly to the Property Tax Appeal Board.

If the Property Tax Appeal Board renders a decision lowering the assessment of a particular parcel on which a residence occupied by the owner is situated, such reduced assessment, subject to equalization, shall remain in effect for the remainder of the general assessment period as provided in Sections 9-215 through 9-225, unless that parcel is subsequently sold in an arm's length transaction establishing a fair cash value for the parcel that is different from the fair cash value on which the Board's assessment is based, or unless the decision of the Property Tax Appeal Board is reversed or modified upon review.

(Source: P.A. 88-455; 88-660, eff. 9-16-94; 89-671, eff. 8-14-96.)

(35 ILCS 200/23-20)

Sec. 23-20. Effect of protested payments; refunds. No protest shall prevent or be a cause of delay in the distribution of tax collections to the taxing districts of any taxes collected which were not paid under protest. If the final order of the Property Tax Appeal Board or of a court results in a refund to the taxpayer due to an illegal rate or due to an assessment reduction to the extent a compensatory assessment reduction is not awardable, refunds shall be made by the collector from funds remaining in the Protest Fund until such funds are exhausted and thereafter from the next funds collected after entry of the final order until full payment of the refund and interest thereon has been made. Interest from the date of payment, regardless of whether the payment was made before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1997, or from the date payment is due, whichever is later, to the date of refund shall also be paid to the taxpayer at the annual rate of the lesser of (i) 5% or (ii) the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban Consumers during the 12-month calendar year preceding the levy year for which the refund was made, as published by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

If the final order of the Property Tax Appeal Board or of a court reduces a taxpayer's assessment for a tax year for which the taxes have already been paid and the subject property is still owned by the same person, entity, or a successor entity, then the taxpayer shall be awarded a compensatory assessment reduction as provided in Section 12-37.

(Source: P.A. 94-558, eff. 1-1-06.)