BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Presumptions Foil Municipality
In another case where a municipality took an appeal to trial and rested on the assessment, the strategy backfired as the tax court ruled in favor of the taxpayer. We have written before (Township Punts, Loses at Trial and on Appeal) about municipalities forcing an appeal to trial only to rest on the presumption of correctness. ... Read More
Tax Court stops Grinch who tried to steal tax exemption from local charity
In these consolidated tax appeals, the Tax Court recently dismissed the City of Hackensack’s challenge to the decision by the Bergen County Board of Taxation awarding an exemption from local property taxes for three properties owned by affiliates of Community Housing in Partnership, commonly referred to as CHIP. CHIP and its affiliates provide housing and... Read More
Municipality Swings and Misses on Chapter 91 Motion
Like a baseball player trying to knock one out of the part, local tax assessors try to knock tax appeals out of court with their mighty “Chapter 91” bats. You remember Chapter 91 it is the statute (N.J.S.A. 54:4-34) that allows tax assessors to request income and expense information from owners of commercial properties. Failure... Read More
Expert’s Opinion Off Track in Appeal Near Train Station
A New Jersey Tax Court judge recently concluded that a plaintiff’s expert failed to make several adjustments which impacted the expert’s credibility with the court. The appeal involved a residential property located less than a mile from the train station in Summit, New Jersey. At trial, plaintiff’s expert presented five comparable sales, while the town’s... Read More
De Niro’s Tax Battle Ends With a Whimper
A few weeks ago we told you about Robert De Niro’s tax appeal on his estate overlooking the Hudson River in the tiny town of Gardiner, New York. Despite this writer’s belief that Mr. De Niro has every right to the appeal the actor not only dropped it, but will reimburse the town for its... Read More
Subpoenaed Appraisals Quashed by Attorney-Client Privilege
During discovery in these tax appeals, the defendant municipality became aware of appraisals prepared by a licensed real estate appraiser on the subject properties close in time to the valuation dates for the then pending appeals for tax years 2012 through 2014. Plaintiff’s refused to produce the appraisals. The defendant served a subpoena to produce... Read More
Taxpayer Foiled Despite Overcoming Presumption of Validity
In Michaud v. South Orange Village Township, the taxpayers challenged the $414,000 assessment on their single family home in Essex County. Despite overcoming the presumption of correctness which attaches to all New Jersey local property tax assessments, Pantasote Co. v. City of Passaic, 100 N.J. 408, 413 (1985), the taxpayers failed to convince New Jersey... Read More
Now playing: The Property Tax Appeal, starring Robert De Niro
When I first read about Robert De Niro’s pending tax appeal on his estate in the Hudson Valley, I thought of the endless possibilities for our tax appeal blog. I mean, this is the great Robert De Niro; Bobby D! He is an American film icon who has starred in dozens of great movies, including Raging... Read More
Township Punts, Loses at Trial and on Appeal
In Tomorrow 35 Davidson LP v. Township of Franklin, the Appellate Division upheld the New Jersey Tax Court’s significant reduction in the assessed value of the subject property – a four-story office building – for tax years 2009 (from $22,092,000 to $9,625,000), 2010 (from $19,127,000 to $7,075,000), and 2011 (from $19,127,000 to $5,958,000). At first... Read More
Tax Appeal Bill Introduced to Change Filing Deadlines Statewide
Two New Jersey assemblymen have introduced Assembly Bill A-3313 which would make a Monmouth County tax appeal pilot program applicable statewide. The program would permanently modify the timing of the appeal season and filing requirements in an attempt to settle assessment disputes prior to municipalities enacting their annual budgets. Although no feedback has been provided that... Read More
