BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Your TIN, Not Mine!
A recent Tax Court opinion focused on a technical issue not normally involved in a real estate tax appeal matter. New Jersey Tax Court Judge Jonathan A. Orsen, J.T.C. held that a tax refund check payable to an attorney trust account should be registered to the attorney’s taxpayer identification number (TIN), not the party’s TIN,... Read More
Catch 22: Court to Reexamine Williamson County and Federal Fifth Amendment Taking Rights
In Knick v. Scott, the United States Supreme Court will be analyzing a local ordinance adopted by the Township of Scott, Pennsylvania, which provides public access to cemetery properties. According to the ordinance, even if the cemetery is on private property, the property owner must allow public access onto the property to permit the public... Read More
Not Timely Enough: Township’s Chapter 91 Motion to Dismiss Denied after Request Sent too Late
Chapter 91 has proved to be an effective tool for municipalities to protect themselves from tax appeals. Chapter 91 provides that when a municipality sends a request for income and expense information to a property owner pursuant to the statute, the owner must respond within forty-five days. If the property owner does not respond within... Read More
New Jersey Supreme Court Grants Certification for Non-Profit Exemption Issue
The New Jersey Supreme has agreed to hear a property tax exemption case, where it will decide whether the International Schools Services, Inc., a non-profit organization, which aids and promotes independent educational associations, forfeited its local property tax exemption under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6 by using some of its reserves, staff, and property to subsidize its related... Read More
Appeals Court Upholds Limit on Homestead Rebate Qualification
A New Jersey appellate court recently affirmed the decision of New Jersey Tax Court Judge Joseph C. Small, P.J.T.C. (now retired), for the reasons expressed in Judge Small’s published decision at 24 N.J. Tax 141 (2008), which held that a resident may not tack previous time living at a residence with time spent at their current... Read More
Tax Court Clarifies Taxpayers’ Need to Pay Property Taxes While Under Appeal
The New Jersey Tax Court has recently clarified the longstanding statutory requirement that a taxpayer must pay its outstanding taxes prior to filing a tax appeal. In a case of first impression, the Tax Court ruled that the requirement to pay taxes and municipal charges, as a condition to filing and maintaining a tax appeal under... Read More
Taxpayers’ Spot Assessment Claim Denied
The dismissal of a taxpayers’ challenge to their residential property tax assessment on the basis that it was an unconstitutional “spot assessment” was upheld on appeal for procedural reasons. Schwartz v. Township of Wayne, Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, Docket No. A-3756-07T2. The homeowners, Douglas and Mary Ann Schwartz, appealed their 2006 assessment,... Read More
