BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Changes to Statute Requiring Payment of Taxes Pending Appeal Being Considered
The New Jersey Law Revision Commission has issued a final report recommending to the Legislature that it amend N.J.S.A. 54:3-27, which is the statute that requires payment of taxes at the time of filing a property tax appeal. This recommendation is in response to the 2009 decision of the Tax Court in Trebour v. Randolph,... Read More
Atlantic City Borrowing to Pay Property Tax Refunds
The Atlantic City Council has decided to issue bonds to pay for more than $38 million which is owing to property owners in refunds for successful real estate tax appeals. According to an article in the Atlantic City Press, more than 90 percent of those refunds will be paid to the resort casinos. This is not the first time... Read More
Property Tax Exemption for Sale
In a recent opinion, the New Jersey Tax Court addressed the issue of the sale of a tax exempt property from one nonprofit entity to another nonprofit entity. The transfer of ownership occurred in July 2009. While the City of Newark agreed that under the new owner, the property qualified for a tax exemption in 2010,... Read More
Bergen County “Group Homes” Entitled to Tax Exemption
Up to $1 Million Refund for Non-Profit Providing Integrated Residential Psychiatric Services The New Jersey Appellate Division recently reversed a decision by the Tax Court, which had denied tax exemptions under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6 for a seven-year period to an organization which provides communal supportive housing for psychiatric patients. At issue was whether homes owned by... Read More
Apples and Oranges? Another Tax Appeal Dismissed
Failure to make adjustments between alleged comparable sales and subject property spells doom for property owner’s tax appeal A New Jersey appellate court recently affirmed the opinion of the Tax Court upholding an assessment on plaintiff’s home. The plaintiff in Roberts v. Newark relied on sales data that he compiled himself and did not offer an... Read More
Legislative Reform For Tax Assessments On The Way?
Legislation seeks to create a more cost-effective and accurate process of real property tax assessments New Jersey property owners continue to struggle under a crushing property tax burden. Instead of pursuing substantive policy initiatives to alleviate local taxes, the Legislature is instead looking to make changes to the process through which property is assessed for... Read More
Montclair Tax Assessment: Might be Wrong, But Not In Error
Property Owner Incorrectly Argues for Refund Under Correction of Errors Statute Following Revaluation A taxpayer alleged that he had been overcharged for property taxes following a 2007 revaluation. The taxes increased on one unit he owned in a two-unit condominium in Montclair following the revaluation, and he alleged his land value was too high because the... Read More
Property Tax Exemption Denied to West Windsor Non-Profit
The New Jersey Supreme Court, reviewing multiple decisions by the Appellate Division and the Tax Court, held that West Windsor Township properly denied an exemption application from International Schools Services, Inc., (“ISS”) because the non-profit activities on its property were commingled with the for-profit ventures with which it had a “significant” and “substantial” involvement. That... Read More
Property Tax Exemption Does Not Require Compliance With Municipal Zoning Ordinance
A New Jersey appellate court has reversed an earlier Tax Court decision denying a property tax exemption because the taxpayer was using the property contrary to local zoning. The appellate court held that the tax exemption statute, N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6, does not require, as a prerequisite, compliance with the municipal zoning ordinance. The taxpayer operated Oak Knoll School... Read More
Chapter 91 Strikes Another Taxpayer
Another appeal dismissed for failure to respond to request for income and expense information In the latest of a string of recent cases highlighting the harsh effect of N.J.S.A. 54:4-34, the Tax Court held that a municipal tax assessor’s request to a taxpayer for income and expense information, commonly referred to as a “Chapter 91” request,... Read More
