Tax appeal may proceed even though Owner has delinquent taxes on another property.
SteveK October 29th, 2009
In John Trebour Trustees v. Randolph Township, the Tax Court denied a municipality’s motion to dismiss a tax appeal because the taxpayer owed taxes on a property that was no longer the subject matter of the tax appeal. This was a case of first impression by the Court. The taxpayer filed a complaint contesting its assessments on two lots. The taxpayer failed to pay the requisite taxes through the first quarter of the year under appeal on one of the lots. The taxpayer withdrew its appeal on the lot with delinquent taxes, but proceeded with its appeal on the remaining lot on which taxes had been paid. The Tax Court ruled that the taxpayer is only required to pay the taxes on the lot under appeal. Real estate taxes are not personal to the owner – - they relate to the property and therefore a taxpayer can proceed with a tax appeal on a property with taxes paid through the first quarter of the year under appeal, even if the same person owns other properties with delinquent taxes.
We have successfully argued for dismissal of cases where other fees and charges (e.g., developers’ fees, building permit charges, land development escrow deficiencies) are due from a taxpayer, through the first quarter of the year, on the property which is the subject of the appeal. The decision of the court does not appear to reach a contrary result, so long as the delinquent fees or charges relate to the property under appeal.
DiFrancesco, Bateman, Coley, Yospin, Kunzman, Davis & Lehrer, PC ( www.dbnjlaw.com ) is a full service law firm in New Jersey which provides a broad range of legal services, including the representation of clients in real estate tax appeals. For additional information about the matters in this bulletin or in the firm’s real estate tax appeal group, please contact Martin Allen, Esq.
- Municipal Law , Real Estate , Tax Appeals
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